View Full Version : On this day in Military History
04-18-2010, 06:17 PM
In 1783 Fighting on the American Mainland ceases , the American Revolution is over.
In 1797 the battle of Neuwied- French Vicotry against Austria
In 1848 the US Victory at Cerro Gordo in the Mexican war
In 1915 a French pilot named Roland Garros glides to a landing after having shot his prop off and is captured by the Germans.
In 1942 off the coast of Japan 16 B-25B medium Bombers took off from the deck of the USS Hornet to raid targets in Japan.
In 1943 Operation Vengeance- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is ambushed and shot down by USAAF P-38s over Bougainville
In 1945, Correspondent Ernie Pyle was Killed by Japanese Machinegun fire on the island of Ie Shima off the coast of Okinawa
In 1945 1,000 RAF Bombers raid Heligoland Germany
04-18-2010, 06:35 PM
intruguing stuff LD thanks! :grin:
04-18-2010, 08:02 PM
Friday was the 65th anniversary of the start of the Battle of Berlin as well.
Spent the day in Treptow Park.
04-18-2010, 09:02 PM
39 years ago, the last elements of the invading forces participating in the failed Bay of Pigs operation surrendered to Cuban Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR).
04-19-2010, 05:53 AM
Cool and interesting post, and I've just discovered the history section of this forum...so awesome! :)
04-19-2010, 07:34 AM
Lord Byron is welcomed by the people of Missolonghi
Lord Byron dies from a fever contracted while in the Greek town of Missolonghi, in its second siege by the Turks, during the Greek War of Independence
Lord Byron on his death bed
1941: While Greek troops continue the fight to cover the British & Commonwealth retreat from the Greek mainland (following the German breaking through the Greek & Commonwealth defensive positions in the area of Kleidion), Bulgarian troops enter Greece. Most of the northeastern part of the country comes under Bulgarian occupation and is annexed to Bulgaria
04-20-2010, 09:22 AM
1941: The Greek Destroyer "Psara IV" (D-98) is sank on Easterday, during an attack by German dive bombers in the Golf of Megara, Attica, where she was anchored with the rest of the fleet. Total losses: 37 Sailors and Petty Officers KIA.
1941: On Easterday, Lt. General Georgios Tsolakoglou, CO of the Greek forces in Albania during the German invasion, signs with the German representative, General Josef "Sepp" Dietrich, CO of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, the capitulation of the Greek Army, at the village of Votonosi, Epirus.
1943: At Lykokhoros, Parnassis, Colonel Demetrios Psarros names the armed wing of his resistance group, National and Social Solidarity (EKKA), "5/42 Evzone Regiment". The core of the Regiment is a group consisting of veteran troops, fighters of the Albanian front (against the Italians) & the Macedonian front (against the Germans). During the ceremony, the Greek flag is raised and the Officers, NCO & soldiers of the Regiment, give the military oath
04-21-2010, 08:41 AM
1905: Armed guerilla bands under 2nd Lt Georgios Katechakes (aka Ruvas) and 1st Lt Petros Manos (aka Vergos), cantoned near the town of Kozani, Macedonia, repealed an attack conducted by an overwhelming Turkish force. 2nd Lt Spyridon Zacharopoulos (aka Nystas) with his men, attack the enemy's rear side causing disarray and break them into a rout
1941: The Greek Hospital Ship "Hellenis" is sank during an attack by German dive bombers in the Golf of Corinth, where she was anchored, full of war-wounded.
1941: The Greek Hospital Ship "Hesperia" is sank during an attack by German dive bombers, near the Missolonghi Lagoon, where she was anchored.
1967: Just before dawn on Friday morning, a group of right-wing army officers led by Brigadier Stylianos Pattakos and Colonels Georgios Papadopoulos and Nikolaos Makarezos seized power in a coup d'etat. A series of right-wing military governments rule Greece from 1967 to 1974.
The Junta triumvirate: Pattakos, Papadopoulos, Makarezos
April 21, 1967
The Greek CoA under the military regime of '67-'74
04-21-2010, 04:02 PM
Fantastic thread. First time being here and I like it. Andrew
04-22-2010, 06:11 AM
Would like to have a daily of this
04-22-2010, 06:14 AM
Great idea for a thread.
1794 - bloodless Vilnius - Russian forces expelled from the city as part of Kościuszko Uprising
1831 - November Uprising - failed assault on Russian forces at Mariampol
1915 - gas attack at Ypres
1920 - Polish Army Museum established in Warsaw
1008 - F117 retired from service
04-22-2010, 06:59 AM
1821: On April 1st, just 6 days after the outbreak of the Greek Revolution for Independence, two most competent Turkish commanders from Thessaly, Omer Vryoni and Kjose Mehmet, with a force of 8,000 men strong, move from Thessaly to the South, with orders to put down the revolt in central Greece and then proceed to the Peloponnese and lift the siege at Tripolis. The Greeks realized that it was imperative that the Ottoman force be delayed as long as possible so that the Greeks of the Peloponnese fortify their positions. They decided to send an expeditionary force North, to fight the Ottomans at hopeless odds, and to sacrifice themselves in order to improve the chances of ultimate victory. They decided to take this stand at Alamana, a few hundred yards away from the ancient site of the Thermopylae battle. The Greek force of 1,500 men strong, was split into three sections. Thus, on April 22, 1821, Dyovouniotes with his men, was to defend the bridge at Gorgopotamos, Panourgias with his men the heights of Chalkomata, and Athanasios Diakos with his force the main bridge at Alamana. During a fierce battle, Dyovouniotes' and Panourgias' sections are routed, leaving Diakos with just 48 men to defend the bridge. They put up a desperate hand-to-hand struggle for a number of hours before being overwhelmed. Diakos was captured alive and he was impaled and roasted alive οn a spit. He was 33.
The statue of Athanasios Diakos at his birthplace; the village is named after him
The monument of Athanasios Diakos at Alamana and the statue of Leonidas at Thermopylae, today. Separated by a gap of a few hundred yards & 23 centuries, both men are united in their love for freedom
WWI-1917: The III/1 Btn of the 1st Serres Rgt, of the Serres Division, under Captain (Infantry) Georgios Kondyles, occupies the heavily fortified Height "Semaine de Faire", 3 km/1.8 miles S of the town of Idomen, despite obstinate resistance by the Bulgarian troops. The Bulgarians react by launching a counter-attack, repealed by the Greeks. On the next day, after heavy preparatory artillery fire, a new attack is launched against the Greek troops, conducted by a strong Bulgarian force of at least two battalions, which is repealed thanks to the heroic resistance of 2nd Lt Eustathios Doganes' section. Doganes is KIA. A third consecutive Bulgarian attack is also repealed. Total Greek losses: 17 Officers & OR, KIA; 52 WIA
Georgios Kondyles (in this photo he carries the rank of Colonel)
1941: The Greek Destroyer "Hydra IV" (D-97) is sank during an attack by German dive bombers, near the island of Aegina. Total losses: 39 Officers, Petty Officers and men are killed or drowned (her CO, Commander Theodoros Pezopoulos included)
The Destroyer "Hydra"
1941: The Greek Hospital Ship "Socrates" is sank by German dive bombers, in the bay of Anticyra, where she was anchored.
04-23-2010, 01:34 AM
On this day, April 23rd.
The Battle of Clontarf:
It was between the forces of Brian Boru and the forces led by the King of Leinster, Máel Mórda mac Murchada: composed mainly of his own men, Viking mercenaries from Dublin and the Orkney Islands led by his cousin Sigtrygg, as well as the one rebellious king from the province of Ulster. It ended in a rout of the Máel Mórda's forces, along with the death of Brian, who was killed by a few Norsemen who were fleeing the battle and stumbled upon his tent. After the battle, Ireland returned to a fractious status quo between the many small, separate kingdoms that had existed for some time.
The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
Baedeker Blitz – German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
1948 Arab-Israeli War
Haifa is captured from Arab forces.
Chinese Civil War
The Peoples Liberation Army Navy is formed.
04-23-2010, 05:47 AM
303: Roman soldier George, is executed for his Christian faith. He is venerated as a Christian martyr & Saint by the Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans & Oriental Orthodox. He is the patron Saint of the Greek Army
Greek Army battalions & regiments have a single colour or war flag. This is blue, with a white cross and features St George slaying the Dragon in the centre. Battle honours are sometimes added to the flag; the regiment's identity is inscribed on the flagstaff
The historical colours of the 1st Rgt of the II Infantry Division, in the 1st Balkan War (1912)
1827: He succumbs to his wounds, on his name day (St George's day), April 23, 1827, after being fatally wounded by a rifle shot, in the battle of Athens, the military commander, and hero of the Greek War of Independence, General Georgios Karaiskakes
General Georgios Karaiskakes
1897: Greek forces under Brigadier Constantine Smolenski, offer stiff resistance to fierce attacks launched by the Turks in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, at Pharsala, Thessaly
Brigadier Constantine Smolenski
1941: Greek battleships, "Thyella", "Axios", "Pleias", "Nestos", "Aliacmon" and "Alcyone" are sank during an attack by German dive bombers, in the Saronic Gulf where they were anchored.
1941: Greek Torpedo boat, "Kios", is sank during an attack by German dive bombers, in the bay of Vouliagmeni where she was anchored.
1941: Greek Minesweeper, "Korgialenios", is sank during an attack by German dive bombers near the island of Corfu.
The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht
King George II of the Hellenes
Prime Minister Emmanuel Tsouderos
04-23-2010, 06:24 AM
The Battle of Kapyong,
EIGHTH UNITED STATES ARMY (KOREA)
Office of the Commanding General
23rd June 1951
AWARD OF DISTINGUISHED UNIT CITATION
BATTLE HONOURS-By direction of the President, under the provisions of Executive Order 9396 (Sec I, WD Bul. 22, 1943) Superceding Executive Order 9075 (SecIII, WD Bul. 16, 1942) and pursuant to authority in AR 260-15, the following units are cited as public evidence of deserved honour and distinction.
3RD BATTALION, ROYAL AUSTRALIAN REGIMENT
2ND BATTALION, PRINCESS PATRICIA'S CANADIAN LIGHT INFANTRY COMPANY A,
72ND HEAVY TANK BATTALION (UNITED STATES)
are cited for extraordinary heroism and outstanding performance of combat duties in action against the armed enemy near Kapyong, Korea, on the 24 and 25 April 1951. The enemy had broken through the main line of resistance and penetrated to the area north of Kapyong. The units listed above were deployed to stem the assault. The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, moved to the right flank of the sector and took up defensive positions north of the Pukham River. The 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, defended in the vicinity of Hill 677 on the left flank. Company A, 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion, supported all units to the full extent of its capacity and, in addition, kept the main roads open and assisted in evacuating the wounded. Troops from a retreating division passed through the sector which enabled enemy troops to infiltrate with the withdrawing forces. The enemy attacked savagely under the clangor of bugles and trumpets. The forward elements were completely surrounded going through the first day and into the second. Again and again the enemy threw waves of troops at the gallant defenders, and many times succeeded in penetrating the outer defences, but each time the courageous, indomitable, and determined soldiers repulsed the fanatical attacks. Ammunition ran low and there was no time for food. Critical supplies were dropped by air to the encircled troops, and they stood their ground in resolute defiance of the enemy. With serene and indefatigable persistence, the gallant soldiers held their defensive positions and took heavy tolls of the enemy. In some instances when the enemy penetrated the defences, the commanders directed friendly artillery fire on their own positions in repelling the thrusts. Toward the close of 25 April, the enemy break-through had been stopped. The seriousness of the break-through on the central front had been changed from defeat to victory by the gallant stand of these heroic and courageous soldiers. The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment; 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry; and Company A, 72nd Heavy Tank Battalion, displayed such gallantry, determination, and espirit de corps in accomplishing their missions under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions as to set them apart and above other units participating in the campaign, and by their achievements they brought distinguished credit on themselves, their homelands, and all freedom-loving nations
BY COMMAND OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL VAN FLEET:
Leven C. Allen
Major General US Army
Chief of Staff
04-23-2010, 06:27 AM
Awesome thread! + Kudos for this.
04-24-2010, 06:21 AM
1184 BC: The Greeks capture the city of Troy.
1897: Turkish troops under Ethem Pasha drive off the Greeks holding the defence line Pharsala-Velestino, and capture the town of Velestino, in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897
1941: 1st and 2nd year Cadets of the Army Academy, 300-strong, steal the Academy Colour and board small ships and trawlers for Crete
The 1941 Academy Colour at the Army Academy Museum
1941: Greek warships, "Doris", "Cydoniae", "Arethousa", "Aegle", "Chios" and "Pergamos" are sank, by German dive bombers.
1941: During an attack by German planes on the Salamis Naval Base of the Royal Hellenic Navy, the historic Battleship of the Great War, "Kilkis" (former BB-23, USS Mississippi), is sank.
1941: Greek Patrol boat "A4" is sank during a German air raid, near the island of Euboea.
1941: The 6-day Naval Operation "Demon", for the British evacuation of Greece, begins. Royal Navy and Royal Hellenic Navy ships, transport British & Commonwealth troops (62,562 men and women) from the Greek mainland to Crete and Alexandria, Egypt. 27,000 troops were transported to Crete, 23,000 to Egypt.
1944: Following a clash with guerillas, German troops enter the town of Pyrgos, prefecture of Kozani, Macedonia and kill 318 of its inhabitants. 180 of them were inside a barn hiding. The Germans set fire to the barn and burned them alive
04-25-2010, 12:13 AM
Gallipoli landing, 25th of April 1915.
A brief description of the landing
An excerpt from Denis Winter's book,
25 April 1915 - The Inevitable Tragedy,
University of Queensland Press, 1994.
The landing scheme was a simple one, in outline at least. The 3rd Brigade's 4000 men would land as a covering force to secure a beachhead for two Australasian divisions made up of six brigades. Those 4000 would go in two waves. The first, consisting of 1500 men, were to start from three battleships – Queen, Prince of Wales and London – then be distributed between twelve tows, each made up of a steamboat, a cutter (30 men), a lifeboat (28 men) and either a launch (98 men) or a pinnace (60 men). The remaining 2500, the second wave, were to land from seven destroyers shortly afterwards. Those destroyers would wait near the island of Imbros and join the battleships, one and a half miles (about 2 km) from the mainland, at 4.15 am. The first wave was scheduled to land a few minutes earlier, and the destroyers would then sail in, full speed ahead, adding a number of lifeboats borrowed from transport vessels to the tows that had been used by the first wave. Once the whole 3rd Brigade was ashore, the rest of the 1st Division would arrive on transports, grouped in fours and coming in at regular intervals.
Such, at least, was the plan, and its first stage was negotiated without difficulty. Troops on the battleships were woken at 1 am, given a hot meal and a drink while the tows were being got ready, and by 1.30 am were ready for mustering into companies. This operation was carried out with impressive efficiency: no one spoke; orders were given in whispers. The only sounds were shuffling boots and muttered curses as men slipped on the ladders leading down to the boats. But for many, the tension of that still night magnified the sounds.
Click link for rest of the article. http://www.anzacsite.gov.au/1landing/bgrnd.html
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Lest we forget.
04-25-2010, 06:10 AM
1941: German Operation "Hannibal": Fallschirmjäger seize Corinth and cross the Corinth Canal to the Peloponnese.
1941: The remaining ships of the Greek Fleet, with the historic Battleship "Georgios Averoff" at the lead, the Destroyers "Queen Olga", "Spetsae", "Kountouriotes", "Aetos", "Ierax", "Panther"; the Torpedo boats "Aspis", "Nike", "Sphendone"; the Submarines "Nereus", "Triton", "Glaukos", "Katsones", "Papanikoles" and the Auxiliary Vessel "Hephaestus", begin the gradual retreat initially to Souda bay, Crete and afterwards to Alexandria, Egypt.
1941: The Greek Hospital-ship, "Polikos", is sank during a German air raid, near the island of Poros.
04-26-2010, 05:54 AM
1825: The Greek Brig "Ares" breaks through, after a short skirmish, the Turkish sea blockade at Navarino (32 ships of the combined Turco-Egyptian fleet, cut off all maritime transport from and to the maritime town of Navarino), and escapes
The Brig "Ares" in 1899. She was sunk in 1921
1897: The Greco-Turkish War takes a negative turn for Greece. This leads the Greek government to order the recall of the Greek Army from the island of Crete and the acceptance of it as an Ottoman dominion
1912: The Italians, with the help of the local Greek population, capture the island of Rhodes and drive the Turks off. Italians at first treated the local populace well, and hopes of a speedy union with Greece flourished. However, the raise of Fascism in Italy, led to a strict policy of Italification (forced Italification of names, suppression of Greek language, harassment of Orthodox clerics). Finally, Italy denies Rhodes (and the rest of the occupied Dodekanese islands) the right to self-determination. This was the signal for the beginning of armed resistance.
1941: The Greek commercial ship "Zakynthos" was sunk near Monemvasia, during a German air raid. She carried 50 million drachmas, in bank notes, destined to reach Crete (provisional seat of the Greek government).
04-28-2010, 09:09 AM
1906: During the Greek Struggle for Macedonia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Struggle_for_Macedonia), 2nd Lt (Cavalry) Christos Prandunas (aka Kapsales), with his armed band, fall into a Bulgarian ambush. Lt Prandunas is killed
2nd Lieutenant Prandunas
1941: The Greek Patrol boat "A3" is sunk, during a German air raid, in the Gulf of Patras
04-28-2010, 10:51 AM
0357 - Constantius II visited Rome for the first time.
1282 - Villagers in Palermo led a revolt against French rule in Sicily.
1635 - Virginia Governor John Harvey was accused of treason and removed from office.
1686 - The first volume of Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathamatic" was published.
1788 - Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the U.S. constitution.
1789 - A mutiny on the British ship Bounty took place when a rebel crew took the ship and set sail to Pitcairn Island. The mutineers left Captain W. Bligh and 18 sailors adrift.
1818 - U.S. President James Monroe proclaimed naval disarmament on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
1932 - The yellow fever vaccine for humans was announced.
1953 - French troops evacuated northern Laos.
1967 - Muhammad Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army and was *****ped of boxing title. He sited religious grounds for his refusal.
04-29-2010, 05:24 AM
1091: The Battle of Levounion (outside Constantinople), takes place. An invading force of 80,000 Pechenegs, is heavily defeated by the combined forces of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Alexios I Comnenus (20,000) and his Cuman (40,000), Wallachian (5,000) & Flemish (500) allies
Emperor Alexios I Comnenus
04-30-2010, 05:48 AM
1825: The naval battle of Methone (SW Peloponnese) takes place. The Greek fleet under Andreas Miaoules & Antonios Kriezes, sinks 10 ships of the combined Turco-Egyptian fleet.
1897: The Thessalian front (Greco-Turkish war of 1897) collapses. The Greek forces begin their gradual retreat
1945: Adolf Hitler commits suicide by gunshot and cyanide poisoning.
04-30-2010, 10:00 AM
April 30, 1863: Battle of Camarone
Fix bayonets, and prepare to charge
"They were here less than sixty opposed to a whole army. Its mass crushed them. Life rather than bravery gave up these French soldiers at Camerone on 30 April 1863. In memory of them, the fatherland has erected this monument".
04-30-2010, 10:24 AM
Saigon’s Fall, 35 Years Later (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/30/opinion/30dinh.html)
05-01-2010, 06:39 AM
WWI-1917: The men of the II/1 Battalion (under Cpt Gregorios Iulianos) of the 1st Serres Rgt of the Serres Division advance to occupy the fortified by the Bulgarians, Raviné Ηeight (E of Skra-di-Legen). The operation is planned by the CO of the Rgt, Lt. Col (Infantry) Nikolaos Zaphiriou and despite the obstinate Bulgarian resistance, it is successful for the Greeks (and allies of the Salonika Front). Greek losses accounted for 5 Officers, 51 OR, KIA; 9 Officers, 225 OR, WIA
exhausted Bulgarian POW after the battle of Skra di Legen
05-02-2010, 06:08 AM
1897: The Greek forces of the Epirus front (Greco-Turkish War of 1897), occupying the area of Grimbovon, are forced to retreat to Arta after fierce Turkish attacks (under Osman Pasha)
1919: Elements of the Greek I Division (4th, 5th Infantry Rgt, 1/38 Evzone Rgt) land at the Turkish port city of Smyrna/Izmir, following the article 7 of the Armistice of Mudros, which allowed the Allies (winners of the Great War) "to occupy any strategic points in the event of any situation arising which threatens the security of Allies."
Greek troops at Smyrna
1945: 220 Commandos of the Sacred Band under Lt. Col. Photios Messenopulos occupy the island of Rhodes. 31 Germans & 23 Italians surrender to the Greek troops.
1945: German forces in Berlin surrender. The Battle of Berlin ends on May 2. On this date, General of the Artillery Helmuth Weidling, the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, unconditionally surrendered the City to General Vasily Chuikov of the Soviet Army. On the same day the officers commanding the two armies of Army Group Vistula north of Berlin, (General Kurt von Tippelskirch commander of the German Twenty-First Army and General Hasso von Manteuffel commander of Third Panzer Army) surrendered to the Western Allies.
Gen Vasily Chuikov (left) Gen Helmuth Weidling (right)
05-03-2010, 05:43 AM
1808: On May, 3, following the Spanish "Dos de Mayo" (Second of May) uprising against the French Napoleonic rule, a series of French retaliatory actions take place in Madrid, Spain:
Hundreds of Spaniards were rounded up and shot, at a number of locations around the city. As a result of the massacre, the Spaniards formed irregular civillian bands and engaged in a five-year Peninsular War, the first to be called guerrilla war. These irregular Spanish forces considerably aided the Spanish, Portuguese, and British armies jointly led by the 1st Duke of Wellington, who first landed in Portugal in August 1808.
In 1814 the famous Spanish painter Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, immortalized in his painting "El tres de mayo de 1808 en Madrid" the Spanish uprising and made the rioters symbols of heroism and patriotism:
05-03-2010, 03:13 PM
May 3, 1939
Stalin made overtures to Nazi Germany, and dismissed his Jewish Foreign Minister Maxim Litvinov (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_Litvinov).
(Very important pre war event)
05-04-2010, 04:37 AM
1945: On May 4, 1945, the British Field Marshal Montgomery took the unconditional military surrender from General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg, and General Hans Kinzel, of all German forces "in Holland, in northwest Germany including the Frisian Islands and Heligoland and all other islands, in Schleswig-Holstein, and in Denmark."
1945: German toops in Norway surrender.
1945: German forces in Bavaria surrender to the American General Jacob L. Devers, commander of the American 6th Army Group.
General Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg and Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery at the British camp on Luneburg Heath to sign the Instrument of Surrender of the German armed forces in Holland
05-05-2010, 06:22 AM
1897: Strong Turkish forces under Ethem Pasha launch attacks against the Greek Ι & ΙΙ Division (Greco-Turkish War of 1897), forcing them into retreat towards the mountain of Othrys.
1905: During the Greek Struggle for Macedonia, armed bands under 1st Lt Constantine Mazarakes-Aenian & Emmanuel Katsigares, cantoned near the roots of Vermion mountain, Macedonia, are attacked by a battalion sized Turkish element. Only after a 24-hour fight, the Greeks managed to retreat and evade annihilation
Lt Mazarakes-Aenian with his men
1941: Major General Bernard Freyberg, is appointed by General Wavell to command approximately 40,000 British, New Zealand, Australian and Greek troops which are stationed on Crete. While a strong force on paper, these troops have virtually no artillery or tanks and are very disorganised after their hurried evacuation from Greece.
Maj Gen Freyberg
1945: On May 5, 1945, the Prague uprising started by the Czech resistance. The following day the Soviets launch the Prague Offensive. In Dresden, Gauleiter Martin Mutschmann let it be known that a large-scale German offensive on the Eastern Front was about to be launched. Within two days, Mutschmann abandoned the city and was captured by Soviet troops while trying to escape.
The Prague uprising
05-05-2010, 01:55 PM
Today was the forth day after the 2nd Battle of Ap Cao Bang village, RVN...the worst fking day of my life.
05-05-2010, 02:56 PM
Cinco de Mayo, 1862
The Battle of Puebla (http://mexidata.info/id1346.html)
05-05-2010, 03:07 PM
Today was the forth day after the 2nd Battle of Ap Cao Bang village, RVN...the worst fking day of my life.
Sounds like an interesting story, MM...
05-06-2010, 06:03 AM
1821: Psarian revolutionaries land on the island of Imbros (now Gökçeada) and after a short skirmish capture the Turkish fortress on the island
1897: A cessation of hostilities between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Greece (Greco-Turkish war of 1897) is agreed. Negotiations for a lasting peace begin between the parties with the participation of Great European powers.
1944: Strong Bulgarian regular forces attempt to clear the area north of the town of Drama, Macedonia, of Greek insurgents. After a 10-day battle with the insurgents, the Bulgarians withdraw. Total Bulgarian losses: 42 Officers, 702 OR, killed & wounded
1945: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of WWII in Europe, begins
05-06-2010, 08:32 PM
Wasn't the last major battle of WW2 the battle of Okinawa?
05-07-2010, 06:47 AM
1906: One of the most important battles of the Greek struggle for Macedonia takes place: 2nd Lt Antonios Vlakhakes' (aka Litsas) armed band attack Bulgarian bands cantoned around the towns of Kastanophyton & Petropulakes, Kastoria prefecture, Macedonia. The battle lasts for 8 hours and both sides suffer severe casualties. Suddenly a Turkish battalion attacks the Greeks on the rear inflicting them severe losses: Lt Vlakhakes, his XO Leonidas Petropulakes and 22 of his men are KIA
Lt Vlakhakes (center) with the Maniot brothers Leonidas (left) and Panagiotes Petropulakes
1945: General Alfred Jodl signs the instruments of unconditional surrender as representative for Karl Dönitz at Reims, France. Jodl recieves permission to make a statement: "With this signature the German people and the German Armed Forces are, for better or worse, delivered into the hands of the victors...In this hour I can only express the hope that the victor will treat them with generosity." Germany's participation in the war ends.
1945: On the Dodecanese island of Symi, the CO of the Greek Destroyer RHNS "Crete", Commander Ioannes Theophanides on behalf of the Greek government, the British CO of the RN Destroyer HMS "Exmoor" (transferred to the Royal Danish Navy in 1952 as HDMS Valdemar Sejr) on behalf of the British government and the German Major General Wagner, Commander of German forces in the Dodecanese sign the instruments for the unconditional surrender of the German forces stationed there. On the next day the Greek Destroyer RHNS "Crete" enters first, the port of Rhodes, while German troops line up ashore, presenting arms and the German flag is hauled down
Major General Wagner, Commander of German forces in the Dodecanese, and two of his staff officers on a motor launch come alongside the destroyer HMS "Kimberley" after the unconditional surrender of German forces in the region was signed
1954: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat
Wasn't the last major battle of WW2 the battle of Okinawa?
Yes, you're right, I obviously missed the "in Europe" part; I have just edited my post, thanks
05-07-2010, 09:55 AM
1915- Lusitania was sunk by a german U-Boat off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1200 people.
05-08-2010, 06:29 AM
1821: After the Greek defeat in the Battle of Alamana (http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?177957-On-this-day-in-Military-History&p=4903230&viewfull=1#post4903230) a Turkish force of 9,000-strong under Omer Vrioni, headed south to the Peloponnese peninsula to suppress the Greek revolution. Greek revolutionary Odysseus Andrutsos (or Androutsos) with a band of 120 men took up a defensive position at an inn near the town of Gravia, Phocis, central Greece, closing the road to Peloponnese. Vrioni attacked the inn but was repulsed with heavy casualties (over 400 dead). Finally, he was forced to ask for reinforcements and artillery but the Greeks managed to slip out before the reinforcements arrived. Andrutsos lost two men in the battle and earned the title of Commander in Chief of the Greek forces in Central Greece
The Gravia inn today
1897: An armistice is signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Greece that ends the Greco- Turkish War of 1897. Greece is defeated
1907: 2nd Lt Zacharias Papadias (aka Fufas) with his armed band attack a Bulgarian band cantoned near the town of Palaeochorion. In the battle that follows, 2nd Lt Papadias is killed
2nd Lt Papadias
1945: The WWII Allies, formally accept the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, making May 8, the Victory in Europe Day (VE day)
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05-09-2010, 10:06 AM
On 05 May 1942 the USS Wasp (CV-7) launched British Spitfires in the defense of Malta.
By CDR. JOHN W. BIRCH, USNR (Ret.)
In April 1942, I was an ensign on the aircraft carrier USS Wasp off the coast of Great Britain when, at the request of the British government, we received orders to ferry British Spitfires to the island of Malta. At that time during World War II, the British were being dominated in the skies over Europe by the German Luftwaffe and the Spitfires were needed badly in Malta.
When we entered the Firth of Clyde in Scotland to pick up the Spitfires at King George Dock in Glasgow, rousing cheers greeted us from shore. "The Yanks Are Coming . . . The Yanks Are Here!" It was a wonderful sight to behold for all of us.
After loading 47 British Spitfires aboard on 13 April, we took off into the Atlantic at a speed of 25 knots, ringed all the while by destroyers for protection. The Wasp's convoy down to British Gibraltar included both destroyers and cruisers to protect us from possible attack by German U-boats prowling the Atlantic. Just w-h-o-o-s-h we went past the Bay of Biscay which was the "country road," really, for U-boats heading west.
At Gibraltar we picked up a couple of British destroyers (with anti-aircraft guns all over them just like a cruiser) and headed for Malta. About 150 miles away, confident of success, we launched the Spitfires from the deck of the Wasp so they could fly the rest of the way. It would have been far too risky for us to take them all the way to Malta.
Tragically, when the Spitfires reached Malta and had either landed, or were in the process of landing, German and Italian planes were waiting for them. To our dismay, we learned later that Axis intelligence had discovered our plans. They destroyed at least 30-35 of the Spitfires either in the air or on the ground in a devastating attack.
Our mission had been in vain. Or had it? . . . .
During our return trip to Britain, Prime Minister Winston Churchill contacted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to request that the Wasp make a second trip to Malta. President Roosevelt agreed at once. So perhaps we would succeed after all. . . .
The calendar had now turned into May when we returned to Scotland and hoisted aboard another complement of Spitfires. Heading toward Malta on our second attempt, a flash from British Gibraltar came saying that we were lined up to go through Gibraltar – through the pass. But once we were into the throat of it, the Wasp received word that "Five or six unidentified objects have been spotted heading west. (Towards our convoy.) Be alert."
It was obviously a "wolfpack" of German U-boats.
With that, the senior British officer immediately ordered the convoy to reverse course. Emergency turns, full speed out. We went far out into the Atlantic Ocean and headed south in a big, sweeping arc out of harm’s way – we hoped.
After a very tense night aboard ship, the next day –9 May– we reached British Gibraltar naval base without a bit of trouble. The British had sent their destroyers out to clear a path for us. So we all thought that this time would be it. Primed to rise to the occasion, we were acutely aware of the importance of our mission and what was at stake. We were determined to succeed and knew the very real danger that we had faced the night before from those German U-boats.
Benefiting from our "learning curve" after the Wasp’s first unsuccessful trip to Malta, this time we attached "belly tanks" to the Spitfires so they could fly on to Malta using that fuel and have a full tank in reserve just in case they encountered German and Italian fighter planes again. Which is precisely what happened.
But this time the Spitfires were ready. Turning the tables, they released the belly tanks and engaged the enemy with a full complement of fuel. Utilizing all their skill, the brave Royal Air Force pilots won the air war as they blew the Axis planes out of the sky!
With the Spitfires now safely on the ground in Malta, the Wasp turned and headed north back to Britain. The entire ship felt a great sense of pride – not only for a job well done but because we had done our duty and accomplished our mission. The successful delivery of the Spitfires proved to be a deciding factor in the interception and termination of the supply line to the Axis forces in Africa.
En route to Britain, as the Wasp exited the Mediterranean, the ship received a personal message from Winston Churchill on 11 May that read:
"Who said a Wasp couldn't sting twice? Many thanks
to you all for the timely help." – Churchill
Needless to say, that message was so typically "Churchillian" in tone –short, elegant, and eloquent– that its effect on the Wasp's morale and esprit de corps was incredible, unbelievable. The entire ship went into an uproar!
I have always admired Winston Churchill as a great leader and a great man, and my admiration for him at that moment knew no bounds. Churchill's personal message, which I considered a message of commendation for the two trips that the Wasp made to Malta, remains my most unforgettable memory during my service aboard the USS Wasp. It inspires me still.
05-10-2010, 05:27 AM
1940: Operation "Fall Gelb" ("Case Yellow"): At 5.35am, the Wehrmacht begins the invasion of the Low Countries (Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg), employing Army Group A (von Rundstedt) and B (von Bock), with Army Group C (von Leeb) in reserve. The attacking forces comprise 10 Armoured, 5 Motorised, and 75 infantry divisions. The 19th Panzer Korps (Guderian), 20th Panzer Korps (Hoth) and the 41st Panzer Korps (Reinhardt) field between them 2,445 tanks, most of which are of the light Marks I, II, 35(t) and 38(t) type, against 3,373 French and British tanks. In his Order of the Day, Hitler declares, "Soldiers of the Western Front! The battle which is beginning today will decide the fate of the German nation for the next thousand years. Go forward now and do your duty!" Airborne troops seize airfields and strategic bridges near Amsterdam and Rotterdam in Holland. The Luftwaffe, using hundreds of level and dive bombers, attacks Allied airfields, troop assembly areas and rear communications.
1941: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland in order to try and negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Germany, but instead was arrested. He was tried at Nuremberg and sentenced to life in prison at Spandau Prison, Berlin, where he died in 1987
05-10-2010, 02:57 PM
May 10, 1940
British troops occupied Iceland.
Churchill became Prime Minister.
Comprehensive book burnings in Nazi Germany.
Also bad operations in Vietnam, 1969 & 1972
05-11-2010, 04:31 AM
1944: Operation Diadem: The British Eighth and U.S. Fifth Armies begin an attack on Gustav Line in central Italy. The Gustav Line was the most rearward of the three German defensive lines on the Italian peninsula south of Rome. Built along the Garigliano and Rapido rivers it was fortified with gun pits, concrete bunkers, turreted machine-gun emplacements, barbed wire and minefields. The Gustav Line was held by 15 divisions of the German Army under the command of General Albert Kesselring.
05-12-2010, 05:17 AM
1797: Napoleon’s troops occupy Venice and tore open the gates of the infamous Venetian Jewish ghetto. Swept up in the fervor, many Jews volunteer for Napoleon’s army
The French entry into Venice
1821: The Battle of Valtetsi, in mountainous Arcadia, Peloponnese, occurs. It was the first major battle of the Greek War for Independence. Approximately 12,000 Turks and Albanians, under Mustafa Kehayabey and Ruby Bey, attack 2,300 revolutionaries under the Maniot Kyriakules Mavromichales. 700 Greeks under Theodoros Kolokotrones, arrive on time and attack the Turks on their flanks weakening their operational power. All Turkish and Albanian attacks were repelled and finally Ruby bey ordered retreat which turned into a route after the Greeks abandoned their defensive attitude under the fortified positions and violently counterattacked, completely breaking the enemy lines achieving a decisive and total victory and capturing huge amounts of gun pieces and materiel, mainly cannons and ammunition that would be vital for the following events. Total Greek losses: 150 KIA; Ottoman losses accounted for 600 KIA
Mavromichales (left) and Kolokotrones
WWI-1917: The 10th battle of the Isonzo begins. 38 Italian divisions launch an attack on only 14 divisions of the Austro-Hungarian Army. 35,000 Italians and 7,300 Austro-hungarians are KIA
Italian Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna (left), Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal Svetozar Borojević von Bojna
1919: I/5 & II/5 Btns of the 5th Infantry Rgt occupy the region of Magnesia (now Manisa) in Minor Asia
Greek Cpl in Minor Asia. He wears French M1918 brown leather equipment; he carries an Adrian French steel helmet; He's armed with the M1903 Mannlicher-Schönauer, rotary magazine bolt action rifle (6.5mm)
1942: The 2nd battle of Kharkov. Timoshenko’s offensive grinds forward into Army Group South with two pincer attacks, one Northwest out of the Izyum bulge by the 6th Red Army and the other West then Southwest by the 28th Red Army from the Volchansk area, designed to converge west of Kharkov. After initial promising signs, the offensive was stopped by German counterattacks. Critical errors by several staff officers and by Joseph Stalin himself, who failed to accurately estimate the 6th Army's potential and overestimated their own newly-trained forces, led to a successful German pincer attack cutting off advancing Soviet troops from the rest of the front.
1943: Greek Destroyer "Kanares III" (L-53, former HMS Hatherleigh) under Lt Commander Panagiotes Damelates, disembarks a contingent under 2nd Lt Ioannes Semertsides on the islet of Zembra, in the gulf of Tunis; after a short skirmish, the German garrison on the islet surrenders
1945: The German garrison of "Festung Kreta" (Fortress Crete), surrenders to the Greek authorities
05-13-2010, 06:18 PM
May 13, 1846
President James Knox Polk declares war on Mexico (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk)
05-14-2010, 08:29 AM
1509: During the War of the League of Cambrai (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_League_of_Cambrai), in the Great Italian Wars, the Battle of Agnadello, occurs. It was a struggle for power and territory among France and the Republic of Venice. Approximately 20,000 Venetians under Nicolo, Count of Pitigliano and his younger cousin, Bartolomeo d'Alviano, repulse approximately 40,000 French, who launch attacks, first by cavalry and then by pikemen. French king Louis XII arrives with his own reinforcements, throwing Alviano's army into confusion. Finally the Venetian army is routed leaving behind 5,000 dead and wounded. The battle is mentioned in Machiavelli's "The Prince" (Chapter 12), noting that in one day, the Venetians "lost what it had taken them eight hundred years' exertion to conquer."
Allegory of the Victory over the League of Cambrai (detail). This complex painting is in the "Sala del Senato", Venice. It commemorates a rather inglorious war against the League of Cambrai (formed by the Pope, the kings of France and Spain, and the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) which went badly for Venice. In 1509 its enemy occupied Venice's mainland territories and threatened the City itself. The canvas depicts Doge Leonardo Loredan and represents the Venetian resistance to the combined powers of Europe, symbolized by allegorical figures.
1919: The Greek 4th Infantry Rgt occupies the town of Aydın (ancient Tralles) on the Aegean coast of Turkey.
Smyrna/İzmir: The Changing of the Guard at the Greek general headquarters
1940: Germans take Rotterdam. The Dutch government arrives in London.
Rotterdam annihilated by the Nazis
1944: Elements of the Greek Sacred Band, land on the island of Paros, neutralize the German garrison of the airfield and capture its CO as POW
The Greek Sacred Band's CO, Colonel Khristodulos Tsigantes in Tunisia
1948: Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War (also known by Israelis as the War of Independence, and by Palestinians as Al Nakba-the catastrophe).
1955: Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, East Germany and the USSR, sign in Warsaw, Poland, a treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, known informally as the Warsaw Pact
The first Warsaw Pact conference
05-16-2010, 06:25 AM
1940: The Germans try to enlarge Sedan pocket. British troops withdraw from Louvain, west of Brussels as troops of the German 6. Armee break through the Allied "Dyle line" in Belgium. The KW line, or "Dyle line" as it was referred to by the Allies, covered Brussels and connected the PFA-Position fortifiée d’Anvers with the city of Namur. It ran from the fort of Koningshooikt near Antwerp to Wavre (hence the name: KW) along the marshy Dyle valley, for 60 miles, a natural tank barrier. Belgian government leaves Brussels for Ostend.
1942: Kerch is captured by German troops: General Erich von Manstein commanded 11. Armee in an effort to clean out the Red Army presence on the Kerch peninsula which would then allow him to deal with Sevastopol without interference. According to von Manstein’s plan, the VII. and XLII. Korps had to tie down the Soviet forces in the northern sector, while the XXX. Korps and the 22. Panzer Division broke the front in the south and swept north, encirkling the Soviet forces. The result was yet another disaster for the Red Army; 162,282 soldiers KIA, WIA & MIA, almost all the heavy weapons and equipment and 417 airplanes lost. The remaining Soviets were forced to evacuate their troops across the straits in extremely difficult conditions and under heavy fire. For five days, Soviet ships shuttle back and forth, finally pulling out 86,000 men, including 23,000 wounded.
1943: The Warsaw Ghetto uprising ends.
05-17-2010, 04:31 AM
1940: Brussels, Louvain (Leuven) and Mechelen in central Belgium all occupied by the troops of 6. Armee. Germans attack further into NE France; General Gamelin, French Commander-in-Chief, gives allied troops "conquer or die" order. French prime minister Pierre Laval is replaced by Paul Reynaud who forms a new government. Charles de Gaulle's newly raised 4th Armoured division launches a counter-attack near Laon, which is easily repulsed by the Germans.
General Maurice Gamelin (center) with his staff officers
1943: Operation Chastise: The Dambuster Raids are carried out by No. 617 Squadron RAF on German dams. 1,300 people are killed (53 RAF aircrewmen).
The post-raid party attended by those crews who completed the mission
1944: U.S. troops land on Wake Island and the northern coast of New Guinea.
US soldiers of the 163rd Infantry Regiment storm the beach on Wake Island
1987: An Iraqi Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two Exocet missiles into the U.S. warship USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
05-18-2010, 09:23 AM
1803: UK revokes the treaty of Amiens and declares war on Napoleonic France. The war of the 3rd Coalition (the third major concerted effort of multiple European powers, among them the UK, Austria, the Russian Empire, Portugal, Sweden, to contain Napoleonic France and its client states) begins. It ended 43 months later in a French victory.
Napoleon at the final battle of the war of the 3rd coalition, the battle of Austerlitz
1905: During the Greek struggle for Macedonia, Cpt Michael Moraites' (aka Kodros) armed band, while moving into the Gumenissa gorge to spend the night, falls into a Turkish ambush. They are attacked by a battalion sized Turkish element. After a desperate battle for survival, Cpt Moraites and his XO 2nd Lt Spyridon Phrangopulos (aka Gogras) are killed. A Large Number of Moraites' men are killed and captured.
Cpt Moraites (left), 2nd Lt Phrangopulos
WWI-1918: The Greek Divisions of the Armée d'Orient (Salonika Front) under Lt Gen Emmanuel Zymvrakakes, occupy Skra-di-Legen.
Skra-di-legen, was a fortified position covering the three peaks of the Paikon Mountain, west of the town of Gevgelija. Bulgarian troops fortified it in 1916 and in 1917 they withstood a strong frontal assault launched by the French. In May 1918 this triangular in shape position was defended by the 3rd brigade of the Bulgarian 5th "Dunavska" (Danubian) division: 2nd Infantry Regiment defended its right flank, 50th Infantry Regiment defended its left flank and on the top of the triangle, occupying the frontal position, stood the three battalions of the 49th Infantry Regiment. Three more Bulgarian Regiments (8th, 60th, 54th Infantry Regiment) & one German (45. Infanterie Regiment) were in reserve. The attacking forces comprise the Archipelago Division (Maj Gen Emmanuel Ioannu), the Cretan Division (Maj Gen Panaghiotes Speliades) & the Serrae Division (Maj Gen Epaminondas Zymvrakakes).
The allies, started a 13-hour Artillery barrage, before elements of the Greek Archipelago Division were thrown to battle. At 04:45, I/1 Btn (Major Psarras) & II/1 Btn (Cpt. Skaltsoyannes) of the 1st Archipelago Rgt (Lt Col Georgios Kondyles) of the Archipelago Division, marched under the fire of the Bulgarians against the first Bulgarian line of Defence, Bastion-Ouest, overrided the enemy & occupied the line Piton-Poche (the Regiment's main objective). At almost the same time, the Battalions (III/6 Btn-Major Nikolaos Plasteras, II/6 Btn-Major Vassilios Karakufas) of the 6th Archipelago Rgt (Col. Constantine Exarkhakos) after a tough & bloody fight, occupied the Bulgarian entrenchments set on the axis Courtine-Bastion Central. The Battalions (I/4 Btn-Major Vassilios Papayannes, III/4 Btn-Major Constantine Babales) of the 4th Archipelago Rgt (Lt.Col. Euthymios Tsimikales) commenced their advance against the main Bulgarian fortifications of Skra-di-Legen under heavy enemy fire. Within 15 minutes they approached the first enemy defence line. After a fierce battle, I/4 Btn although lost its CO, occupied the main defence line of Skra-di-Legen.
At the east flank of the Archipelago Division, the Regiments (7th Cretan-Lt.Col. Panagiotes Gardikas, 8th Cretan-Lt.Col. Demetrios Stavrianopulos) of the Cretan Division commenced their advance at 04:45. The Cretans of the 7th Rgt routed the enemy & by 10:50 occupied Bochet. At 05:30, 8th Rgt advanced against the Bulgarians at Tablette & occupied it. At 14:00, III/8 Btn (Major Ioannes Vlastos) attacked the Bulgarian entrenchments of Petit Tranche Brun & after heavy fight, occupied it.
At the west flank of the Archipelago Division, the Regiments (2nd Serrae-Lt.Col. Chrestos Tserules, 3rd Serrae-Lt.Col. Nikolaos Kalomenopulos) of the Serrae Division, attacked the Bulgarians at 04:45. By 06:45 the objectives had been secured: 2nd Rgt occupied the town of Lunci & secured the line Boite des Bulgars-Block Roche. 3rd Rgt. made contact with the allied Serbian Division. Although the Bulgarians conducted strong counter-attacks, they were all repulsed by the Greeks. Greeks suffered 2,832 casualties (29 officers). Bulgarian losses accounted for approx. 600 KIA. 1835 Bulgarians (35 Officers) captured.
1940: Germans take Antwerp, Belgium’s second city. Allied forces are seriously split as German tanks of 19. Panzer Korps (Guderian) reach Peronne and Rommel's 7. Panzer Division reaches Cambrai during their rapid advance toward the Channel coast. Amiens is occupied. Regions ceded to Belgium in Treaty of Versailles (1919) re-incorporated into Germany.
Motorcycle-mounted reconnaissance troops from the German 7. Panzer Division survey the landscape somewhere in northern France, May 1940
1944: In the 4th and final battle of Monte Cassino, after a 7-day fierce encounter with German Fallschirmjäger, Polish troops finally capture it.
2009: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending decades of fighting between the two sides.
Sri Lankans celebrate in Colombo after President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared victory in the country's civil war with LTTE
05-19-2010, 08:12 AM
19 May 1919
THE BEGINNING OF THE TURKISH WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
After the Armistice of Mondoros, the countries that had signed the agreement did not consider it necessary to abide by its terms. Under various pretexts the navies and the armies of the Entente (France, Britain and Italy ) occupied Istanbul, while the province of Adana was occupied by the French, and the British occuped Urfa and Maraş. In addition, British soldiers were in Merzifon and Samsun, and Italian soldiers were in Antalya and Konya. On the 15th of May 1919 the Greek Army landed in Izmir in accordance with the Allied powers. The Turkish War of Independence began under these difficult conditions on the 19th of May 1919 when Mustafa Kemal landed in Samsun. It is after this date, which marks the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence, that a national resistance arose across Anatolia. Mustafa Kemal became the leader of the national struggle movement which quickly grew in strength. Once the congresses in Erzurum and Sivas were held in the summer of 1919, the objectives of the national pact were declared.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a highly respected army general, led the Turkish people in their War of Independence (1919-1923) against the allied occupiers.Ataturk’s outstanding leadership qualities were first recognized during the 1915 Çanakkale Battle (also known as the Gallipoli Battle, or Dardanelles Campaign). After numerous victories by Turkish forces on many fronts between 1919 and 1922, the occupying forces were defeated. In 1923, the Republic of Turkey was established. As the leader of the new nation, Ataturk created the foundations for a modern, secular and democratic country.
05-19-2010, 09:55 AM
1643: In the Thirty Years' War, the French (under Louis II de Bourbon, 4th prince of Condé) decisively defeated the Spanish forces (under Don Francisco de Melo) in the Battle of Rocroi. 26,000 Spaniards, crossed the French border from the Netherlands and then stopped to besiege the small fortress of Rocroi, 55 miles (88 km) northeast of Reims. They were annihilated by the 22,000 French of the Duke d’Enghien (later known as the Great Condé), marking the end of Spain’s military ascendancy in Europe. At the battle of Rocroi, the Tercio Español (a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pikemen, swordsmen and arquebusiers in a mutually supportive formation that dominated warfare for over a century) is decisively defeated and the technique of the Tercios, and the art of their style of combat, died.
Louis II de Bourbon, Duke d’Enghien
1940: General Gamelin is replaced by General Maxime Weygand as Chief of the French General Staff and C-in-C of all theatres of operations. Marshal Henri Petain, the hero of the First World War, is appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. German troops of XX. Panzer Korps (Reinhardt) capture St. Quentin.
1941: In the Anglo-Iraqi War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_1941), the British capture Fallujah after fierce fighting.
Iraqi troops at Fallujah
1944: Wake Island is secured. In the battle of Wake island, 820 Japanese and 130 Americans were killed.
Raising the U.S. flag on Wake Island
05-21-2010, 09:08 AM
1809: During the War of the Fifth Coalition (the fifth major concerted effort of multiple European powers, among them Austria, the UK, Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Kingdom of Sicily to contain Napoleonic France) the battle of Aspern-Essling occurs. Napoleon attempted a forced crossing of the Danube near Vienna, but the French were driven back by the Austrians under Archduke Charles. The battle was the first time Napoleon had been personally defeated in over a decade. The victory demonstrated the progress the Austrian army had made since the string of catastrophic defeats in 1800 and 1805.
Victorious Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen during the Battle of Aspern-Essling
1879: During the War of the Pacific (a conflict between Chile and the alliance between Peru and Bolivia) the naval battle of Iquique occurs. The wooden Chilean Corvette "Esmeralda" and the schooner "Covadonga", while sailing near Iquique, Peru, spotted the Peruvian ironclad ships "Independencia" and "Huáscar". The four ships engaged in combat, but the armor of the Peruvian ships resisted the shots from the Chilean ships while the Esmeralda lost one of her engines. Her CO, Captain Arturo Prat Chacón refused to surrender to the Peruvians and Esmeralda, was rammed by the Peruvian monitor "Huáscar". He was killed shortly after boarding the Peruvian armored monitor. Despite the fact that Iquique was a Peruvian victory, following Prat's death, his name became a rallying cry for Chilean forces, and Arturo Prat has since been considered a Chilean national hero.
Death of Arturo Prat
1940: A British counter attack is launched near Arras with armoured and infantry support against Rommel's 7. Panzer Division, throwing it off balance. A similar attack in the south by a French armoured brigade under General de Gaulle fails after initial success. The French 9th Army is surrounded and destroyed, its commander, General Giraud, taken prisoner.
French General Henri Giraud in captivity in Germany
1941: 80 Ju-52s crash land a regiment of 5. Gebirgsjäger Division to support the hard-pressed paratroopers who are defending Maleme airfield. A British counter-attack at Maleme airfield is repulsed by the now reinforced paratroopers. A German attack at the Rethymnon airfield fails. A Battalion of the Greek Gendarmerie counter-attacks and captures the CO of the 2. Fallschirmjäger-Regiment, Oberst Alfred Sturm.
Gebirgsjäger board Ju-52s for Crete
1941: The city of Heraklion is heavily bombarded by the Luftwaffe. German paratroopers penetrate the outskirts of the city. A Greek counter-attack is launched with infantry and civilian armed bands which causes disarray. The paratroopers withdraw with considerable casualties.
1941: A Royal Navy force commanded by Rear Admiral Irvine Glennie intercepted a convoy of 25 commandeered caiques - Greek fishing boats - escorted by the Italian destroyer Lupo (Cpt. Francesco Mimbelli). The Royal Navy sank several caiques and others turned back. They were carrying elements of the 5. Gebirgsjäger Division with their vehicles, Flak and support weapons, as well as engineer and anti-tank units. The Luftwaffe sinks the British Destroyer HMS "Juno" (F46) (Cdr J.R.J. Tyrwhitt) and damages the Light cruiser HMS "Ajax" (22), southwest of Crete.
1945: The Japanese begin the evacuation of Shuri, on Okinawa. Their losses so far are estimated at 48,000 killed out of a garrison of 85,000.
1945: The British Second Army (Major Sidney Excell) arrest a certain Heinrich Hitzinger at Bremervörde. British soldier Arthur Britton, identified him as Heinrich Himmler in disguise.
05-21-2010, 09:36 AM
May 21st, 1856
Sack of Lawrence by Pro-Slavery Forces
May 21st, 1864
13 day Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends, part of Grants Wilderness campaign
Union -100,000 engaged 2,725 KIA, 13,416 WIA, 2,258 POW/MIA
Confederate - 52,000 engaged, 1,467 KIA, 6,235 WIA, 5,719 POW/MIA
05-21-2010, 05:23 PM
May 21, 1935
German military service requires Aryan descent.
05-23-2010, 06:14 AM
1568: The first battle of the Eighty Years' War occurs. At Heiligerlee, a village in the Dutch province of Groningen, Dutch rebels consisting of 3,900 infantry led by Louis of Nassau, and 200 cavalry led by Adolf of Nassau, both brothers of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg and his pro-Spain loyalist troops. Louis' infantry, making up the bulk of the army, defeated the Spanish force which lost 1,500–2,000 men, while the rebels lost 50, including Adolf.
Battle of Heiligerlee monument
1706: During the War of the Spanish Succession, the battle of Ramillies occurs. An army of 62,000 men from the Dutch Republic and England, under John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeat the Franco-Bavarian army (60,000 men) of François de Neufville, 2nd duke of Villeroy.
The 1st Duke of Marlborough
1915: Ignoring treaty agreements with the Central Powers, Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.
Italian Bersaglieri in WWI
1940: Heavy fighting around Boulogne. Units of the German 6. Armee cross the Scheldt river at Oudenaarde in Belgium.
The wounded commander of 2nd batallion/Infanterie-Regiment 46, Hauptmann Burseg reports to his divisional commander General Kurt von Briesen (to the left with map, KIA 1941 in USSR) before being taken to the rear. Battle of Oudenaarde, May, 1940
1941: Further German attempts to land troops by sea on Crete are repulsed as heavy fighting continues around Canea. At Castelli a German attack is repulsed by the 1st Greek Rgt. The Greek government and King George II leave Crete for Cairo, Egypt.
1941: Luftwaffe sinks two British destroyers off Crete, HMS "Kashmir" (F12) and HMS "Kelly" (F01). Kelly was bombed and sunk, with half her crew killed.
1943: The heaviest RAF raid of war to date is made against Dortmund, during which 2,000 tons of explosives are dropped.
1944: The U.S. Fifth Army begins an offensive from the Anzio bridgehead toward Rome. Canadian troops breach the Adolf Hitler Line to the South West of Monte Cassino.
The CO of the US 5th Army, Lt Gen Mark Wayne Clark
1945: British troops arrest the Donitz government and the remnants of the German High Command at Flensburg. Himmler commits suicide at the British Second Army HQ on Lüneburg Heath.
1945: The heaviest air raid so far on the Japanese homeland, see USAAF bombers drop 4,500 tons of incendiaries on Tokyo. 21% of the city is now burnt out, but the firebombing continues for next four days.
Firebombing of Tokyo
05-24-2010, 05:29 AM
1940: Infantry units of XIX. Panzerkorps storm Boulogne. On the morning of 24 May the French garrison still held the old citadel, and was determined to fight on, protected by the 30 foot walls of the citadel. The Germans carry out a head-on attack. Using siege ladders, and supported by concentrated artillery fire, flame throwers and close range fire from anti-aircraft guns, by the end of the day the Germans had captured the citadel. They took 5,000 British and French prisoners. 5,000 British troops are rescued by the ships of the Royal navy. The French fortress of Maubeuge surrenders, while 6. Armee captures Ghent and Tournai in Belgium and St. Omer in North-eastern France.
1941: The German battleship Bismarck, the pride of Hitler's navy, sinks the British dreadnought HMS Hood (51), considered the pride of the Royal Navy in the interwar period, off Greenland, with the loss of more than 1,415 lives. Only three men (Ted Briggs, Bob Tilburn, and Bill Dundas) survived.
The death of HMS Hood; a smoke cloud fills the sky above Hood's position, just after she exploded
1942: Operation Hannover: For six days, 45,000 German troops, including panzer and SS-police units, search for an estimated 20,000 partisans, catching or killing many of them. In the Barvenkovo salient, General Ewald von Kleist's Panzers start to chop up the Russian 6th and 9th Armies. Moscow admits the loss of 5,000 dead, 70,000 missing, and 300 tanks destroyed. The Germans claim 10,500 KIA, 24,000 POW's and 1,200 tanks destroyed.
1983: During the Iran-Iraq War, the Iranians recapture the border city of Khorramshahr after two days of bitter fighting, capturing 19,000 soldiers from a demoralized Iraqi Army after the fighting was over. At 13:50 on Saturday, May 24, 1983, the Iranian combatants marched triumphantly through the city of Khorramshahr. The Iraqi army retreated from most parts of the southern territories, and the liberation of Khorramshahr became a reality and a living legend in the hearts and minds of all Iranians. The Iraqis commemorate May 24 as "Martyr’s Day" and the Iranians celebrate this day as the "Liberation of Khorramshahr".
An armed Iranian woman in Khorramshar, during the Iraqi invasion
05-25-2010, 06:08 AM
1810: The last day of the week-long "May Revolution" occurs. These events are commemorated in Argentina as "May Week" (Spanish: Semana de Mayo). On Friday, 25 May, 1810, the First Assembly (Spanish: Primera Junta), the first independent government of Argentina is formed. The May Revolution is considered the starting point of the Argentine War of Independence.
Today, May 25, 2010, marks 200 years of the May Revolution, leading to the Bicentennial of Argentina.
The May Pyramid (Pirámide de Mayo) in Buenos Aires
1940: German armed forces pressed the Allied armies trapped in the north, from south and east, into the English Channel. The battle for Dunkirk begins.
1941: Bismarck escapes the Royal Navy’s pursuit, separates from the Prinz Eugen and makes her way to Brest. She is attacked by Swordfishes from the aircraft carrier HMS Victorious.
This photo of the Bismarck was taken by one of the Swordfishes during the attack
1941: During the Battle of Crete, the Germans decide to go on the offensive having now received substantial reinforcement through Maleme airfield. They capture the town of Galatas, near Canea. Greek troops attack and after fierce fighting recapture it in the evening.
1944: German airborne troops attack Tito's Partisan HQ at Drvar in Bosnia on Tito’s 52nd birthday. Tito and Churchill’s son Randolph, both manage to escape into the mountains.
A female partisan, is captured by the Germans in Drvar landings, May 1944
1982: During the Falklands War, the Royal Navy destroyer HMS "Coventry (D118)" was struck by two 1000lb bombs just above the water line on the port side and sunk. The bombs were delivered by two Argentine A-4 Skyhawks (Primer Teniente Mariano A. Velasco, Alférez Leonardo Barrionuevo). 19 of her crew were lost. 30 were injured.
05-26-2010, 04:36 AM
451: The Battle of Avarair occurs between the 66,000-strong Armenian army under Vartan Mamikonian (Saint Vartan for the Armenians) and their Sassanid rulers.The Persian army numbered 250-300,000 men (40,000 of whom were Armenians). In addition to the Persian elements, the Sassanid force included contingents from various Caucasian, Caspian and central Asian territories. In the battle, Vartan won initial successes, but was eventually slain along with eight of his top officers and 1027 of his men. Persian casualties accounted for 3,000-4,000 men. May 26 is considered to be a holy day by Armenians, and is one of the most important national and religious days in Armenia.
Depiction of the battle by Grigor Khanjian
1770: The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Turks before the Greek War of Independence, ends in disaster for the Greeks. A Russian fleet of 14 warships commanded by Count Aleksey Grigoryevich Orlov reached Mani in February 1770, prompting the Maniots to revolt against the Ottomans. Almost immediately the Greeks of W. Greece under Alexes Karakitsos and of Aetolia under Stathas Gerodemos raised their war flags. After an initial success, the revolt was a failure which cost a huge number of Greek lives (both in battle, and in the Turkish reprisals that followed for 4 long years). The Greeks became increasingly distrustful of the Russians as a result.
The naval Battle of Chesme took place on 5-7 July 1770 near and in Çeşme (Chesme) Bay, between the Russian Orlov fleet and the Ottomans in the area between Asia Minor and the island of Chios. It was part of the Orlov Revolt of 1770
WWI-1918: During the Caucasus Campaign of WWI, the Battle of of Sardarapat occurs. 6,000 Armenians of the Armenian National Council (a provisional Armenian government based in Tbilisi, Georgia) defeated 10,000 Turks and Kurds of the 36th Ottoman Caucasus Division. Suffering heavy losses, the Ottoman army is routed. The Ottoman defeats in the battles of Sardarapat, Bash Abaran, and Kara Killisse were instrumental in allowing the Armenian National Council in Tbilisi to declare the independence of the Democratic Republic of Armenia (which lasted for 2 years).
1919, Independence day celebration in the Democratic Republic of Armenia
1940: Operation Dynamo: The evacuation of British, French and Belgian troops from Dunkirk begins. Under the command of Admiral Bertram Ramsay, hundreds of naval, commercial and private vessels participate in this most desperate rescue attempt. Calais falls to the Germans as they advance towards Dunkirk.
1941: Swordfish Torpedo-bombers from the Ark Royal score hits on the Bismarck, disabling her steering gear and rendering her un-maneuverable. This enables British destroyers to attack after dark.
18 torpedoes were dropped against the Bismarck
1941: In the Battle of Crete, two companies from the Greek 5th Rgt attack and occupy the German held village of Estavromenos, Rethymnon. Dozens of Germans are captured prisoners.
1942: The battle for the Gazala line begins (Operation Venezia), as the Afrika Korps thrusts south with 560 tanks of the 15. and 21. Panzerdivision, elements of the 90th Motorized Infantry Division, and the Italian Divisions Trieste and Ariete and around the southern end of the British 8th Army's defensive positions towards Tobruk. The Free French forces (3,703 men of the 1st Free French Division under General Marie Pierre Kœnig) at Bir Hacheim manage to hold up this advance. This feat of arms was for many a significant proof of the valor and courage of the French soldiers. Axis losses were heavy: 3,300 men were KIA/WIA, 277 were captured. French losses accounted for 140 KIA, 229 WIA.
General Kœnig with his officers at Bir Hacheim
1943: The Soviet Army begins an offensive against the German forces isolated in the Kuban bridgehead between the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.
05-26-2010, 09:35 AM
26 May 1954..Fire & Explosion on the USS Bennington CVA-20
(The short story) At 0811, 26 May 1954, while cruising off Narragansett Bay, the fluid in one of her catapults exploded, setting off a series of secondary explosions which killed 103 crewmen and injured 201 others. BENNINGTON proceeded under her own power to Quonset Point, R. I., to land her injured.
Moving to New York Naval Shipyard for repairs she was completely rebuilt during 12 June 1954 - 19 March 1955. On 22 April 1955 the Secretary of the Navy came aboard and presented medals and letters of commendation to 178 of her crew in recognition of their heroism on 26 May 1954. BENNINGTON served as a platform for innovations in Naval Aviation.
The full details...
On the 26th of May 1954 the aircraft carrier, USS BENNINGTON CVA-20 was steaming off the Atlantic coast for carrier qualifications. This cruise was interrupted by a violent explosion or series of explosions, which claimed over 200 officers and men as casualties. The ship suffered massive damage in the forward third with sheets of flame and a series of explosions. Nearly one hundred men lost their lives within seconds of the explosion and over one hundred others were seriously injured. All survivors were left with a searing memory.
That Wednesday morning had started early. By 0600 hours, preparations to launch aircraft had been completed and aircraft had begun the procedure for launching. Most of the ships crew who were not directly involved in the launch activity were in the process of waking. At 0611 hours with the propulsion system in use on the flight deck there was a violent explosion which involved the forward third of the ship.
Those corpsmen who had the night duty were beginning to start their day by 0600.
The sick bay was located in the stern area below the hanger deck. We thus did not hear any of the explosions. We did hear an announcement for "General Quarters", and we thought that this announcement was stated to be a drill. Within seconds after the corpsmen had begun to dash to their general quarters stations we were aware that this was in fact not a drill.
NOT A DRILL
My first encounter with a hero occurred as the announcement over the speakers was advising that the "General Quarters was no drill". I had no reason to quarrel with that assessment.
A black shipmate started down the ladder to the sickbay. He had no clothes on. He pleaded for us to go and help his buddy. These were his last words. He died in my arms and I realized that his clothes had literally been burned off his body. In my mind he was a hero. Whether he ever received a medal I can't say, he was not easy to identify.
A bosonmate remembers that he was half-awake in his bunk below the hanger deck and "felt the ship shuttering and a dull explosion echoed through the passageways". In his shorts he made his way up a ladder to the second deck and by feeling his way in the dark went up another ladder where he found several shipmates. They helped each other up another ladder and to the fresh air when there was another explosion. A shipmate gave him a pair of dungarees. The second explosion twisted the ladder, which they had just used, "like a pretzel". A third explosion occurred while these men began their work in the aftermath, work that included finding injured, transporting them to the hanger deck where the corpsmen had set up the aid station and searching for bodies.
A fireman, also a hero, had just started out of his bunk when the first explosion occurred. The compartment quickly filled with smoke so the men here formed a chain and started for the hanger deck. The second explosion killed the two men just in front of him. The third explosion "brought him to his senses". He made it to his station for damage control, passing through compartments, which were on fire. "Rockets, bombs and bodies were in the passageways". They found the forward mess hall filled with two feet of water and two casualties, one man on a table and the other face down in the water. They carried the first man out and came back for the second. The second man walked on his own after being turned. "I was scared". All of the men in the catapult room had been killed. "Fires were all around".
The general quarters alarm found a cook preparing breakfast. He started for his general quarters station on the telephone for "Repair 5". Before plugging in his phones the first explosion hit. The second explosion caught him on the ladder and threw him to the upper deck. The third explosion found him looking down into the space below which he had just exited and which was now filled with smoke and dust. He got back to his station and plugged the phone in and found the repair parties aft of his station all checked in but only one station forward of his had checked in and this was manned by a single person. He learned that his Repair Party Officer was dead. On the phone he had made contact with a Damage Control Unit which was trapped. All members of this crew died before help could reach them. The cook's wife is, "still waiting for the telegram which was later sent to let her know he was ok".
At about 0530 hours a pantry man noted smoke coming from the galley. This was located on the third deck amidships. The cook's also noted smoke but no fire. The escape route for these men was through a hatch, which was blown, shut as they approached and became red-hot. One survivor recalls that an "extraordinarily brave man" who searched among all the dead to find him still alive helped him. He was evacuated by helicopter to Newport Rhode Island Naval Hospital and finally recovered and returned to active duty.
Not all efforts to rescue shipmates were successful. There was no doubt that in many cases friends were already beyond help. In some cases the efforts to help were not to succeed. One frantic effort to disengage a shipmate from entangled metal and machinery ended in watching the friend slowly drown as water filled the space where he was trapped. His knowing that he was nearing his final moments and his
Encouragement to those trying to help typified the spirit of the men of the BENNINGTON.
NUMBER OF EXPLOSIONS
The number of explosions heard by various persons varies. Officers on the bridge recalled hearing two explosions. Some individuals in the area of the worst damage recalled three explosions, while one heard no explosion but saw a wall of flame. Certainly some of the differences relate to location. Where one was at the time determined what was heard as well as the chances of injury or death. We heard no explosions in the sick bay, probably because of the location. It appears from the memories that there was a series of explosions, that these were of varying intensities, and that some at least were confined to small areas. With hatches closed there would be a dampening of sound transmission.
Casual inspection of the damage to the ship following our return to dry dock in New York gave startling evidence of the tremendous forces, which were unleashed by the explosions. There was no evidence of harm on the flight deck or on the hanger deck, but in the forward third of the ship one saw structural I-beams twisted. Ladders were torn and twisted. Paint was burned; bulkheads were pushed out in bubbles and all the spaces were covered with greasy soot. Burned rubble was strewn about.
An obvious question was what caused these explosions. As a corpsman I was not in a position to know exactly what happened to cause this accident. I have put my personal observations and other explanations together to try to make sense of the causation. It appeared that there had been a slow leak in one of the catapults. A hydraulic fluid operated the catapults, which was supposed to be safe from fire or explosion. However the timing of the first explosion makes it appear that at some level in the ship the hydraulic fumes were in a vaporized state and had reached a concentration which permitted it to explode and burst into flame when a seaman awoke and lit his first cigarette. The flames spread rapidly throughout the spaces, which had accumulated the leaking hydraulic vapors. These flames must have been extremely hot as suggested by the rapidity of doors reaching a "hot" temperature. The initial flames consisted of the burning of the vaporized hydraulic fluid and lasted only seconds. Other material then began to burn.
05-28-2010, 05:16 AM
WWI-1918: U.S. forces (28th Regiment of 1st Division) are victorious in their first action, Battle of Cantigny. Although a minor action in itself, the Battle of Cantigny was fought on the second day of the great Third German Spring Offensive comprising the Third Battle of the Aisne. A regiment of the American 1st Division (some 4,000 troops), under Maj Gen Robert Lee Bullard, captured the village of Cantigny, held by the German XVIII. Armee, commanded by General Oskar von Hutier and the site of a German advance observation point, strongly fortified. U.S. forces lost 1,067 casualties; they captured around 100 German prisoners. German losses are unknown.
French flamethrower teams supporting the AEF attack at Cantigny
1940: Belgium formally surrenders to the Germans. The British and French reject capitulation and continue the evacuation and rearguard actions at Dunkirk.
King Leopold of Belgium agrees to the surrender of the Belgian army
1940: Norwegian (6th Division), French Mountain and Foreign Legion troops (13th Demi-Brigade), Polish (Independent Highland Brigade) and British forces (4 British battalions) recapture the port of Narvik, forcing the German defenders (Gebirgsjäger units and crews of sunk destroyers) into the surrounding hills and towards the safety of the Swedish border and internment. This is the first allied infantry victory of WWII.
Polish Mountain troops with German POW at Narvik
1941: British and Commonwealth forces begin evacuating Crete through the port of Sphakia on the southern coast of Crete. The withdrawal is to be covered by two recently landed Commando Battalions. Suda is occupied by the Germans.
1982: During the Falklands War, the Battle of Goose Green occurs. It was the first major land conflict of the Falklands War. By the end of the battle, men from 2 Para, the Parachute Regiment, had captured Goose Green and the surrounding area but had lost their commander, Lt Col "H" Jones who was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his leadership and bravery during the battle. 2 Para lost 17 KIA, 64 WIA. Argentine losses accounted for 47 men KIA, 145 WIA. About 100 Argentine troops had been taken prisoner during the battle.
05-30-2010, 05:51 AM
1434: During the Hussite Wars (a religious struggle between the reformist Hussites and the Roman Catholic Church, a national struggle between Czechs and Germans, and a social struggle between the landed and peasant classes), the Battle of Lipany occurs. An army of Utraquists (a moderate faction of the Hussites) and Roman Catholics, called the "Bohemian League", defeated the Taborites and Orphans (radical factions of the Hussites) led by Prokop the Great. 13,000 of the 18,000-strong Hussite army were killed, thus ending the Hussite Wars.
1919: Greek Army (1/8 Battalion of the 8th Rgt & a Cavalry Coy of the 3rd Cavalry Rgt) occupies Pergamum, on the Aegean coast of Turkey.
1940: 53,823 British and French troops are evacuated from Dunkirk, bringing total landed in England since May 27th to 126,606.
Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay was the officer in charge of “Operation Dynamo”
1941: Two students, Emmanuel "Manoles" Glezos (19 y.o) and Apostolos "Lakes" Santas (19 y.o.) ascended the Acropolis, managed to elude the German soldier on flag guard duty and tore down the Swastika. That was the first resistance act that took place in Greece. The Nazi regime responded by sentencing Glezos and Santas to death in absentia.
The Greek newspaper "Eleutheron Vema" of June, 1, 1941. It reads:
"On the night of May, 30, the German flag on the Acropolis, was stolen by unknown culprits. An investigation is underway. The perpetrators and their accomplices will be punished by death."
After the incident, the number of German soldiers on flag guard duty, increased
1942: Admiral Nimitz orders for Task Force 17 (Admiral Fletcher) consisting of the carrier Yorktown, 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers, which had been refitting at Pearl Harbor after operations in the Coral Sea, to set sail for Midway and meet Admiral Spruance there.
USS "Yorktown" (CV-5)
05-31-2010, 05:22 AM
1223: In the Battle of the Kalka River, a Mongolian army of 20,000-strong, defeated a combined army comprising Kievan Rus and Cumans of 25-30,000 men. The importance of the Mongolian expedition was immense. The expedition was history's longest cavalry raid, with the Mongols riding 5,500 miles (8,851 km) in three years in order to deal with the Rus. 14 years later, the Mongols attacked Rus, this time with 120,000 men and with this army, they conquered Kievan Rus.
1825: During the Greek War for Independence, the combined Greek Fleet comprising ships from the island of Hydra under Admiral Andreas Miaoules, ships from the island of Spetsae under Admiral Georgios Andrutsos, and ships from the island of Psara under Admiral Nikolaos Apostoles, defeated the Ottoman Fleet, in the Naval Battle of Suda, Crete.
The Spetsean Admiral, Georgios Andrutsos
WWI-1916: Naval Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet under the command of Admiral Sir John Jellicoe & Admiral Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Admiral Reinhard Scheer & Admiral Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war. At Jutland (N. Sea near Denmark), the Germans, with a 99-strong fleet, sank 115,000 tons of British ships, while a 151-strong British fleet sank 62,000 tons of German ships. The British lost 6,784 seamen, the Germans 3,039. After the battle, Jellicoe was criticised for his caution and for allowing Scheer to escape. Beatty, in particular, was convinced that Jellicoe had missed a tremendous opportunity to annihilate the High Seas Fleet, and win what would amount to another Trafalgar.
Admiral Jellicoe (left), Admiral Beatty
Admiral Scheer (left), Admiral von Hipper
1940: Defence of Dunkirk continues as 68,000 allied troops are evacuated. The French defence of Lille collapses.
1942: During the Battle of Gazala, the Kesselschlacht or "Cauldron battle" occurs as Rommel attacks the fortified box in the Gazala line that is held by the 150th Brigade of the British 50th Division. The Italians attack from the west as elements of the Afrika Korps attack from the east. Meanwhile Rommel's anti-tank gunners, repulse a number of British armoured counter-attacks against his position in the Cauldron.
1943: Black May ends. In May 1943, in the Battle of the Atlantic campaign during World War II, the German U-boat arm (U-Bootwaffe) (UBW) suffered high casualties with fewer Allied ships sunk; it is considered a turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. Black May signalled a decline from which UBW never recovered.
1944: The Soviets repel a heavy German counter attack North of Jassy, Romania and in the southern Ukraine. Stalin gives the go-ahead to Operation Bagration (the Soviet summer offensive) which is to destroy Army Group Centre in Belarus.
06-01-2010, 05:42 AM
1794: During the War of the First Coalition (a series of major conflicts, from 1792-1797 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states trying to contain France), the Glorious First of June is fought. It was a Naval Battle fought between Great Britain and the 1st French Republic, in the Atlantic Ocean, some 400 n.m. West of France. Despite the fact that a 25-strong British Fleet under Admiral Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, defeated a 26-strong French Fleet under Vice Admiral Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, both parties claimed victory, because the British sunk 7 French ships, but a French vital cereal convoy from the United States got through the British blockade. British had 1,200 casualties, while French casualties accounted for 4,000.
WWI-1918: During the 3rd German Spring offensive, the Battle of Belleau Wood begins, fought predominantly by US Marines. On June 1, the US 2nd Division, including the 4th Marine Brigade (Brigadier General James Guthrie Harbord) took up positions south of Belleau Wood near Lucy-le-Bocage while elements of the German 347th Division from Army Group Crown Prince Wilhelm occupied the forest. The Germans launched a major assault on June 4. Supported by machine guns and artillery, the Marines were able to hold, effectively ending the German offensive in Aisne. The following day, the commander of the French XXI Corps ordered Brigadier General James Harbord's 4th Marine Brigade to retake Belleau Wood. On the morning of June 6, the Marines advanced, capturing Hill 142 to the west of the wood. Twelve hours later, they frontally assaulted the forest itself. To do so, the Marines had to cross a wheat field under heavy German machine gun fire. With his men pinned down, Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly called "Come on ya sons-of-*****es, ya want to live forever?" and got them on the move again. When night fell, only a small section of forest had been captured.In addition to Hill 142 and the assault on the woods, the Marines attacked into Bouresches to the east. After taking most of the village, the Marines were forced to dig in against German counterattacks. All reinforcements trying to reach Bouresches had to cross a large open area and were subjected to heavy German fire. When night fell, the Marines had suffered 1,087 casualties making it the bloodiest day in the Corps' history to date. On June 11, the Marines pressed hard into Belleau Wood. From June 11-26, US forces repelled consecutive attacks conducted by the Germans attempting to retake their positions in the forest. Following the Battle of Belleau Wood, Marines began being referred to as "Devil Dogs". According to tradition in the United States Marine Corps, the title was assigned by German soldiers to U.S. Marines who fought in the Belleau Wood (Teufel Hunden). US forces suffered 1,811 killed and 7,966 wounded and missing. The number of Germans dead or wounded is unknown. 1,600 Germans captured.
1940: German onslaught continues at Dunkirk as General John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, C-in-C BEF, returns from Flanders with another 64,400 troops who were evacuated off the beaches this day. However, in future, the evacuation will only continue during the hours of darkness due to the high losses of warships to daylight air attacks.
1940: The British destroyers HMS "Keith" (H06), "Basilisk" (H11) and "Havant" (H32) and the transport Scotia (300 of the French troops she was carrying lost their lives) are sunk by Luftwaffe dive bombers, near Dunkirk.
1940: British forces evacuate the Bodø area of Norway, 120 miles to the southwest of Narvik.
1941: Battle of Crete ends. The evacuation of the island is completed, with 17,000 British, Commonwealth and Greek troops being rescued, although the Australians lose more than half their contingent. The Allied force available to Freyberg for the defence of the island comprised the 1,512 officers, 29,900 other ranks of the British and Commonwealth expeditionary force, the 300 students of the Greek Army Academy, the 474 officers, 10,997 other ranks of the local Gendarmerie chapter and Greek Army. 3,000-4,000 civilians took arms and formed armed bands. Final figures for the British are 16,500 killed, wounded or captured, along with a large number of warships sunk or damaged, while the Germans lose about 6,200 men. Greeks casualties amount to some 4,300 killed, wounded or captured.
1941: Stukas sink the British cruiser HMS "Calcutta" off Alexandria. On passage from Alexandria to provide additional AA protection to ships returning with more troops from Sphakia, Crete, she was attacked by two Ju 88. She was hit by two bombs and sank in a few minutes.
1942: Rommel takes the fortified "box" that is held by the British 150th Brigade in the Gazala defensive line and secures the Cauldron. This enables him to get much needed supplies flowing. Rommel now turns the German 90th Light Division and the Italian Ariete Armoured Division against Bir Hacheim in an attempt to wipe out the Free French garrison which still holds out. He also distracts the British by sending the 21. Panzerdivision northeast to operate nearer to Tobruk.
Men of the Italian Ariete Division-N. Africa, 1942
1943: Greek guerillas blow up the railway tunnel located in Phthiotes, Central Greece, while a train full of Italian troops, ammunition and provisions was crossing it. Dozens of Italians were killed and wounded.
Greek ELAS guerillas
06-01-2010, 03:20 PM
June 1, 1915
The first successful Zeppelin attack on London.
Age of Sail:
June 1, 1794 (french revolutionary wars)
The glorious first of June (obviously) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glorious_First_of_June)
The royal navy defeats the french navy but is unable to stop vital grain convoy from the US to reach France.
June 1, 1813 (war of 1812)
HMS Shannon takes USS Chesapeake off Boston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_USS_Chesapeake)
With 228 casualties, this was a very bloody frigate action and restored the british confidence in the royal Navy after a string of defeats.
From now on, the US navy was bottled up in their ports by superior british forces.
06-02-2010, 04:46 AM
1098: During the 1st Crusade (a military expedition from 1096 to 1099 by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken by the Muslims) the first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city.
1940: 26,200 British and French troops are evacuated from the beaches today. Virtually all British soldiers have now been evacuated and so the remaining French troops have taken over the defence of the perimeter.
1941: In retaliation for the participation of Cretans in the Battle of Crete, the Massacre of Kondomarí occurs. Temporary commander of Crete, General Kurt Student issued an order for launching a wave of brutal reprisals against the local population right after the surrender of the island. Following Student's order, the occupants of Kondomarí were blamed for the death of a few German soldiers whose bodies had been found near the village. Men from the 3. Fallschirmjägerbatallion under Oberleutnant Horst Trebes executed all male civilians from the village of Kondomarí. Trebes was killed in 1944 in Normandy.
1943: Greek destroyer RHNS "Vassilissa Olga" (D15) (Georgios Blessas), and Royal Navy destroyer HMS "Jervis" (G00) (A.L. Poland) attack and sink an Italian convoy comprising two merchant ships, a torpedo boat and the destroyer "Castore", off the island of Pantellaria, SW Italy.
The Queen Olga (left) and the Jervis
1944: U.S. troops are now only 20 miles from Rome.
1984: Operation Bluestar: A military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for the Sikhs, in Amritsar, Punjab, against Sikh separatists, led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who were amassing weapons in the Golden Temple. The operation continues until June 6; according to the Army, 83 Indian soldiers were killed, 248 wounded. Militants lost 492 Killed, 86 wounded. Civilian casualties exceeded 5,000.
Golden Temple after the end of the operation
06-03-2010, 05:19 AM
1665: During the Second Anglo–Dutch War (fought between England and the United Provinces from 4 March, 1665-31 July, 1667. England tried to end the Dutch domination of world trade) the naval battle of Lowerstorf occurs (O.S.). A fleet of more than a hundred ships of the United Provinces commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam attacked an English fleet of equal size commanded by James Stuart, Duke of York 40 miles east of the port of Lowestoft in Suffolk, England. The outcome of the confrontation was a decisive English victory: 1 English ship lost, 300 - 500 killed; 17 Dutch ships lost, 2000 -2500 killed ca 2000 taken prisoner. The English failed to take advantage of their victory. They never managed an effective blockade of the Dutch coast.
1940: Operation Dynamo ends: On the night of 3-4 June, the last night of the Dunkirk evacuation sees 26,700 French soldiers lifted from the beaches. This brings the total rescued to 224,686 British, 121,445 French and Belgian troops. Most of the French opt to return to France to continue the fight. During the evacuation, 6 destroyers, 24 small warships were sunk. 222 British naval vessels and 665 other craft participated in Dunkirk operation. 226 vessels were sunk altogether. 177 aircraft were lost (Germans lost 140 aircraft).
1940: 300 German planes bomb Paris inflicting around 900 casualties.
1941: In retaliation for the participation of Cretans in the Battle of Crete, the Razing of Kándanos occurs. Men from the 3. Fallschirmjägerbatallion entered the town, killed about 180 residents and slaughtered all livestock; all houses were torched and razed. After its destruction, Kándanos was declared a dead zone and its remaining population was forbidden to return to the town and rebuild it.
A German soldier in front of the first of the signs erected after the razing. The text reads: "Kándanos was destroyed in retaliation for the ******* ambush murder of a paratrooper platoon and a half-platoon of military engineers by armed men and women."
The second sign after the razing. It reads: "Here stood Kándanos. It was destroyed in retaliation for the murder of 25 German soldiers"
The Kándanos Memorial
1942: In retaliation for the sabotage of the Heraklion airfield carried out by Cretan and British saboteurs, German troops arrest and put before the firing squad 62 prominent members of the Heraklion society, at the town of Gazi, 6 km (3.7 miles) W of Heraklion.
1942: Task Force 16 (Spruance) and 17 (Fletcher) meet 350 miles NE of Midway. Admiral Fletcher takes overall command of the joint task force, although the two would act separately. US land based aircraft from Midway spot the Japanese Transport Force about 600 miles from Midway. They launch attacks against this force, but without success. US reconnaissance aircraft spot the 2 carriers of the Japanese 2nd Carrier Striking Force, which were about 400 miles from Kiska in the Aleutians.
Admiral Raymond A. Spruance (left), Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher
2007: The USS "Carter Hall" (LSD-50) engaged pirates after they boarded a Danish ship and destroyed 3 small boats being towed behind the captured vessel, but was unable to pursue after the vessel entered Somalian waters.
06-04-2010, 05:56 AM
1859: During the Second War of Italian Independence (the Piedmontese with the help of Napoleon III, Emperor of France defeat the Austrians) the Battle of Magenta (a town located 12 miles/19 km W of Milan, in Austrian-dominated N. Italy) occurs. The small Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia, asked for help from the French in order to defeat the Austrians. The Austrian military plan aims at attacking with their army (58,000-strong) and defeating the small Piedmontese army (1,100 foot) before Napoleon III in command of the French army (59,100-strong) arrives. Napoleon III quickly arrives in N. Italy with his army though, and the Austrians and the French meet around Magenta railway station. The battle of Magenta was not particularly large, but it was a decisive victory for the French-Piedmontese forces. About 6,000 soldiers died during the battle, most of them - about 3/4 - were Austrian. The French-Piedmontese victory opens the way to the liberation of Milan, the first step towards the unity of Italy. After the battle, a real bloodshed, the noun "magenta" was adopted to describe a bright purplish red, blood red.
WWI-1916: The Russians with 55 Divisions (633,000 men) launch their Brusilov Offensive against the Austro-Hungarians & Germans (49 Divisions, 467,000 men) in Carpathia. It was the Russian Empire's greatest feat of arms during WWI, and among the most lethal battles in world history. Brusilov Offensive was the only battle which was named after the individual field commander and was successful in WWI.
General Aleksei Alekseevich Brusilov
1940: Winston Churchill, delivers his famous speech "We shall fight on the beaches, in the fields, in the streets and in the hills. We shall never surrender."
1942: The Battle of Midway, the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, begins.
1944: The U.S. Fifth Army enters Rome.
1944: German U-505, patrolling off Cape Blanco on the West African coast is forced to the surface by depth-charges from the U.S. destroyer escort USS "Chatelain" (DE-149) and is captured intact and towed to Bermuda by the escort carrier USS "Guadalcanal" (CVE-60).
U-505 shortly after being captured
06-05-2010, 05:14 AM
1900: During the Second Anglo-Boer War, British Army takes Pretoria.
British in Pretoria
1940: The Battle of France begins. Germans attack with 119 divisions, including 10 Panzer divisions. Army Group B, with 50 divisions, opens the offensive against the French left wing which is anchored along the Somme for 120 miles, in fortified positions known as the Weygand Line, just 100 miles from Paris.
1942: 8th Army launches a counter-attack against the Afrika Korps forces that are inside the Cauldron. This is codenamed "Aberdeen", but went disastrously wrong from the start, with an infantry tank brigade being destroyed in minefields and an Indian infantry brigade attacking the wrong positions. This left the remainder of the force, the 22nd Armoured Brigade to be repulsed easily by the untouched German defenses. British losses for this operation were 150 tanks, 133 guns, 6,000 killed or wounded and 4,000 POW. Tank units felt the full force of expertly placed German FlaK 8.8 cm guns and without proper armoured cover, the infantry units that followed on suffered accordingly.
1944: More than 1000 Allied bombers drop 5,000 tons of bombs on German gun batteries on the Normandy coast in preparation for D-Day.
1967: The Six-Day-War broke out on, when Israel responded to the Egyptian military build-up by launching a surprise attack on Egypt’s air force, destroying most of it on the ground within a matter of hours.
06-05-2010, 11:32 AM
June 5, 1942:
The United States declares war (http://johnshadegg.house.gov/RSC/DeclarationofWar.PDF) on Rumania, Hungary and Bulgaria.
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy_assassination) was shot in a ballroom at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
(Robert became critical of the Johnson administration after they approved the resumed bombing of North Vietnam in 1966)
06-05-2010, 08:58 PM
Some big things happened on the 6th of June, I'm sure someone will cover it. Something closer to home for me though was the raising of my second Battalion 6 RAR.
http://www.6rarassociation.com/bnhistory.htm 6 RAR was raised in Brisbane at the Enoggera Barracks on 6 June 1965 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel C.M. Townsend. The Battalion was formed by dividing 2 RAR (Pentropic) into two Tropical Establishment (TE) Battalions. The Battalion initially comprised a nucleus command structure of Officers and NCO, two rifle companies and some specialists. The Battalion was brought up to full strength when a large draft of soldiers from the first National Service intake marched-in in September 1965.
06-06-2010, 05:53 PM
June 6, 1918
The Battle of Belleau Wood (http://videos.howstuffworks.com/military-channel/7184-20th-century-battlefields-1918-us-action-video.htm). The most catastrophic day in U.S. Marine Corps history.
06-07-2010, 09:20 AM
1822: During the Greek War for Independence, Psarian revolutionary, Constantine Canares, destroyed the flagship of the Turkish admiral Nasuhzade Kara-Ali Pasha, anchored in the island of Chios. The admiral was holding a celebration, while Canares and his men managed to place a fire ship next to the flagship. When the flagships' powder keg caught fire, she blew up killing all hands on board. Ottoman casualties accounted for 2,000 men, both naval officers and crewmen, as well as Kara-Ali himself.
1863: During the Franco-Mexican War (the invasion of Mexico by the army of the Second French Empire, supported in the beginning by Mexico's major creditors Spain and the United Kingdom, intending to pressure the Mexicans into settling their debts) French troops under General François Achille Bazaine capture Mexico's capital city, Mexico City.
A week later, Maximilian archduke of Austria and Princess Carlota of Belgium were installed as Emperor Maximillian I and Empress Carlotta of Mexico
1880: During the War of the Pacific (a South American conflict in which the forces of Chile fought against a defensive alliance of Bolivia and Peru) the Battle of Arica occurs. 5,000 Chilean troops led by Colonel Pedro Lagos, launched a simultaneous assault from two sides against the 1,903 Peruvians under Colonel Francisco Bolognesi occupying Arica Cape, taking the defenses on a bayonet charge. According to legend, while Col. Lagos waited for reinforcements before storming the Cape, an unidentified soldier shouted "¡Al morro muchachos!" ("To the Cape, boys!"), causing the mass assault. The Chilean officers had nothing to do but to follow their soldiers in a frenetic race for the summit. The Chileans won the battle and the Peruvian CO, Colonel Bolognesi was killed. Chilean casualties accounted for 474 killed and wounded. Peruvians lost approx. 1,000 men.
Peruvian Colonel Francisco Bolognesi, CO of the garrisson at Arica. He held his position against all odds and rejected surrendering proposals by the Chilean Army. His last words: "We shall fight to the last cartridge"
1907: During the Greek Struggle for Macedonia, 2nd Lieutenant Sarantes Agapenos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tellos_Agras) (aka Tellos Agras) a prominent figure among the Macedonian Fighters, is captured and executed by hanging by the Bulgarians.
WWI-1917: The Battle of Messines: 12 British and Commonwealth divisions (216,000-strong) under the command of General Herbert Plumer, launched an offensive near the village of Mesen (Messines) in West Flanders, Belgium against 5 German divisions (126,000 men) under General Sixt von Arnim. The British explode 19 large ammonal mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge, killing 10,000.
1942: Battle of Midway ends. The U.S. carrier USS "Yorktown" (CV-5), having been damaged on the 4th June, is torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine whilst enroute to Pearl Harbor for repairs.
1942: The Japanese make landings on Attu and Kiska Islands in the Aleutian Islands, off Alaska.
Japanese on Attu
1944: 18 captured Canadian soldiers of the North Nova Scotia Highlanders and the 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment (CAR-Sherbrooke Fusiliers Regiment) were taken to the Ardenne Abbey, near Caen, France and killed by members of the 12. SS Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend. This was the place where Standartenführer (Colonel) Kurt Meyer, Commander of the SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 25 (of the 12. Panzerdivision), had established his headquarters. Kurt Meyer was brought to trial for the Abbaye d'Ardenne massacre in December 1945 and denied knowledge of it. He was found guilty and sentenced to death - a sentence later commuted to life imprisonment. He served eight years in a New Brunswick penitentiary and, on September 7, 1954, was released. He died of a heart attack seven years later.
1967: During the Six-Day War, Israeli forces enter Jerusalem.
1981: Operation Opera: 8 F-16A's with an escort of F-15A's of the Israeli Air Force, bombed and heavily damaged Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor in a surprise air strike.
06-08-2010, 09:10 AM
793: Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of the Scandinavian invasion of England. It was a particularly dramatic and significant event, heralding the onset of frequent raids on coastal communities, with churches and monasteries being particularly targeted for their wealth.
1928: During the Northern Expedition (a military campaign led by the Kuomintang from 1926 to 1928 with main objective to unify China under the Kuomintang banner by ending the rule of local warlords), the National Revolutionary Army (the Military Arm of the Kuomintang) captures Peking, whose name is changed to Beijing.
Chiang-Kai-Sek, the C-i-C of the National Revolutionary Army
1940: Battle of France: German forces advancing South from the Somme capture Rouen, Upper Normandy, on the Seine. The British 51st Highland Division and part of the French 10th Army withdraw towards St-Valery-en-Caux, Upper Normandy.
1940: The evacuation of British and French troops (24,000 men) from Narvik and Harstad, Norway is completed.
1944: U.S. forces advancing from Utah Beach capture Sainte-Mère-Église and cut the crucial road and rail links on the Cherbourg peninsula. Rommel puts all German forces in Normandy onto the defensive.
1982: During the Falklands War, Argentine Skyhawks attack the Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels RFA "Sir Galahad" (L3005) and "Sir Tristram" (L3505) killing 50 British servicemen, mostly Welsh Guards.
06-09-2010, 09:53 AM
721: Battle of Toulouse: Al-Samh ibn Malik al-Khawlani, the wali (governor) of Muslim Spain (al-Andalus), built up a strong army from North Africa, Yemen, and Syria to conquer Aquitaine, a large Duchy in the southwest of modern-day France. He besieged the city of Toulouse, then Aquitaine's most important city, and Duke Odo of Aquitaine immediately left to find help. He returned three months later just before the city was about to surrender and defeated the Muslim invaders on June 9, 721, at what is now known as the Battle of Toulouse. The victory hindered the spread of Umayyad control westward, from Spain to France.
1667: During the Second Anglo–Dutch War, the Attack on the Medway occurs. The Dutch Fleet, under Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, sailed up the River Thames to Gravesend, then up the River Medway to Chatham, where they burnt three capital ships and ten lesser naval vessels and towed away the Unity and the Royal Charles, pride and normal flagship of the English fleet. The raid led to a quick end to the war and a favourable peace for the Dutch.
WWI-1918: The Germans launch the fourth Spring offensive, Battle of the Matz, in French sector between Noyan and Montdider.
1944: The Soviets launch a heavy assault on the Finnish forces in the Karelian Isthmus to the North of Leningrad, in an attempt to force them out of war.
1967: During the Six-Day War, Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria.
06-10-2010, 06:03 AM
1619: During the Thirty Years' War, the Battle of Sablat occurs. The Roman Catholic army of Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, defeats the Protestant army of Ernst von Mansfeld.
Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy
1719: During the Jacobite Risings (a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in the British Isles occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by Parliament) the Battle of Glen Shiel occurs. 970-strong British soldiers (120 dragoons) defeated the Jacobites and Spaniards (1,000 foot) of the Scottish Jacobite general, Lord George Murray. It was the last close engagement of British and foreign troops on mainland Great Britain.
1871: During the United States expedition to Korea or Shinmiyangyo, the Battle of Ganghwa occurs: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 U.S. Marines in a naval attack on Han River forts on Ganghwa island. The fighting lasted fifteen minutes. In the end, 243 Koreans were counted dead in the forts and three Americans were also killed in the fighting.
1940: Norway surrenders to Nazi forces.
Hegra Fortress: Hauptman Giebel accepts the Norwegian fortress' surrender
1942: Prague radio announces the extermination of Lidice, a Bohenian town of about 2,000. All the men were shot and women sent to concentration camps. All buildings are razed to the ground as a reprisal for Heydrich killing.
1944: In Distomo, Boeotia Prefecture, Greece, in retaliation for the previous death of three Germans at the hands of local guerrillas, the 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier Division massacre 218 men, women and children. The SS committed the heinous crime of ripping out the intestines of a baby and splattering them on a close relative.
1944: Troops of the 2. SS Panzerdivision Das Reich massacre more than 600 people in the French town of Oradour-sur-Glane, Limousin Region. While the men are shot immediately, the women and children are locked in a church the alter of which is set on fire; those who try to escape the flames are shot.
Oradour-sur-Glane is preserved in a Ruined State
06-11-2010, 08:09 AM
1429: During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Jargeau occurs. Joan of Arc and Duke John II of Alençon controlled a French force of 1,200-strong and assaulted the small town of Jargeau, on the southern bank of the Loire river. The duke of Suffolk, William de la Pole led the English defence (700 men). The English suffered heavy losses. Most estimates place the number at 300-400 of some 700 combatants. Suffolk became a prisoner. The French had some 1,200 troops and their losses appear to have been light.
The statue of Joan of Ark at Jargeau
1938: During the 2nd Sino-Japanese War (a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan from 1937 to 1941), the Battle of Wuhan occurs. More than one million National Revolutionary Army troops were gathered, with Chiang Kai-shek himself in command, to defend Wuhan from the Imperial Japanese Army led by Yasuji Okamura (350,000). The casualties both sides suffered were tremendous. The Chinese lost 400,000 while Japanese losses accounted for 140,000. As a result, the Japanese army was able to completely occupy the Wuhan region. However, the Chinese army was able to preserve their strength, while the Japanese army was considerably weakened.
1940: Battle of France: The French government of PM Reynaud leaves Paris for Tours. German forces capture Rheims.
1943: Operation Corkscrew, the invasion of Pantelleria meets little resistance after a 20-day aerial bombardment of the island.
1943: The US 8th Air Force raids the German naval base at Wilhelmshaven (200 B-17s), while the RAF attacks Münster and Düsseldorf.
06-12-2010, 05:42 AM
1653: During the 1st Anglo-Dutch War (fought entirely at sea due to disputes over trade) the Battle of the Gabbard occurs. The Dutch with 98 ships under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and Vice-admiral Witte de With, divided in five squadrons, attack the 100 ships of the English fleet commanded by Generals at Sea George Monck and Richard Deane and Admirals John Lawson and William Penn. The Battle lasted for two days and ended in a Dutch disaster. The English lost no ships, but General at Sea Robert Deane was killed. The Dutch had six ships sunk and 11 captured.
1798: During the Irish uprising against British rule, the Battle of Ballynahinch occurs. 4,000 Irish under Henry Munro, attack the 2,000 British occupying the two hills to the left and right of Ballynahinch. Ballynahinch was a decisive British victory, which ended the rebellion in Ulster.
1940: The Germans cross the River Marne. Four French divisions and most of the British 51st Highland Division (13,000 men) is cut off and captured by Rommel at St. Valery-en-Caux.
General Rommel talking to his officers on the Western front in June 1940
1944: U.S. troops fighting for Carentan, link up with British troops. So far, the allies have landed 326,000 men and 54,000 vehicles onto the Normandy beaches.
1999: Operation Joint Guardian: NATO-led forces from Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States enter the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia forming KFor.
06-13-2010, 04:34 AM
WWI-1917: The Luftstreitkräfte (Imperial German Air Service) carries out the deadliest German air raid on London. Gotha G.IV heavy bombers bomb with the first daylight the UK capital which results in 162 deaths, including 46 children, and 432 injuries. The reason for the relatively large numbers of casualties seems to have been ignorance as to the threat posed by aerial bombardment of a city in daylight.
1940: German troops advance on Paris. General Weygand declares the French capital an open city.
1944: Near Villers-Bocage, Michael Wittmann's Tiger tank from the 12th SS Panzer Division, destroys 25 tanks and other vehicles of the British 7th Armoured Division.
The Tiger 205 of SS-Obersturmführer (1st Lt) Michael Wittmann, on its way to Normandy
1944: During the German counterattack on Carentan, the Battle of Bloody Gulch takes place near Hill 30 (U.S. Army designation) approximately one mile (1.6 km) southwest of Carentan in Normandy, France, between elements of the German 17. SS Panzergrenadier-Division and 6. Fallschirmjäger-Regiment, and the American 501st, 502nd and 506th, Parachute Infantry Regiments (PIR) of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, reinforced by elements of the U.S. 2nd Armored Division. The 17. SS Panzergrenadier-Division suffered severe losses.
06-15-2010, 03:41 PM
1800: Battle of Marengo: Napoleonic Forces defeat the Austrians near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont, Italy, driving them out of Italy, and enhancing Napoleon's political position in Paris.
1807: Battle of Friedland: Napoleon's Grande Armée defeat the Russians near Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). It was the last battle of the War of the 4th Coalition (the fourth major concerted effort of multiple European powers, among them, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom to contain Napoleonic France).
1846: Bear Flag Revolt begins. Anglo settlers in Sonoma, California, start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.
The first Bear Flag raised by the Anglo-American settlers to symbolize their taking control
1940: Germans enter Paris.
1940: Rommel's 7th Panzer Division takes Le Havre. The French government leaves Tours for Bordeaux. Army Group C, with 24 divisions, prepares to cross the upper Rhine to attack the Maginot Line in Alsace.
1982: The Falklands War ends: Argentine forces in the capital Stanley unconditionally surrender to British forces.
Alfredo Astiz signing the surrender document on board the British HMS Plymouth
06-15-2010, 03:43 PM
1389: Battle of Kossovo: Battle fought at Kosovo Polje (“Field of the Blackbirds”) between the army of the Serbian principality under Stefan Lazar Hrebeljanović, ruler of Moravian Serbia, and the invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the leadership of Sultan Murad I. The battle ended in a Turkish victory, the collapse of Serbia, and the complete encirclement of the crumbling Byzantine Empire by Turkish armies.
1944: During the Pacific Campaign of WWII, the Battle of Saipan is fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June 1944 to 9 July 1944. The United States 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, and 27th Infantry Division, commanded by Lieutenant General Holland Smith, defeated the 43rd Division of the Imperial Japanese Army, commanded by Lieutenant General Yoshytsugu Saito. U.S. casualties accounted for 2,949 KIA, 10,364 WIA. Japanese lost 30,000 men (KIA, WIA & POW)
06-15-2010, 08:33 PM
Nice work, Valtrex. Keep 'em coming!
06-15-2010, 11:22 PM
Great Read, Great Thread Man, Keep It Up.
06-16-2010, 09:14 AM
1487: The Battle of Stoke Field, the final battle of the Wars of the Roses (a series of dynastic civil wars between supporters of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, for the throne of England) occurs. The Yorkist Army, numbering some 8,000 men led by the claimant of the York dynasty, John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, is defeated by King Henry VII's of England Northern Army of some 12,000 men, commanded by the Earl of Oxford.
1746: During the War of the Austrian Succession (a war which used as its pretext the ineligibility of Maria Theresa of Austria to succeed to the Habsburg throne her father Charles VI; in reality this was a convenient excuse put forward by Prussia and France to challenge Habsburg power) the Battle of Piacenza takes place. A Franco-Spanish army of 40,000-strong under Jean-Baptiste Francois des Marets, Marquis de Maillebois & Jean-Thierry du Mont, Comte de Gages is heavily defeated by the 55,000 Austrians of Prince Josef Wenzel. Austria had 700 dead. The Spanish army suffered almost 9,000 casualties and the French added approx. 4,000 to this total.
Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary & Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria
1815: Two days before the decisive Battle of Waterloo, the Battle of Ligny occurs. It is regarded as the last victory of the Napoleon's military career. 68,000 French troops of Napoleon's Armée du Nord (northern army) defeat the 84,000-strong Prussian Army under Field Marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher.
1815: Two days before the decisive Battle of Waterloo, the Battle of Quatre-Bras is fought between the 36,000-strong British Army under the Duke of Wellington and the 20,000 men (2,000 horse) of the left wing of Napoleon's Armée du Nord (northern army) under Marshal Michel Ney. Although the battle tactically ended in a draw, it is considered a French strategic victory.
1913: On the morning of 16 June (08:30) the Bulgarians launch surprise attacks on the Greek (Nigrita) and Serbian (Gevgelija) Army without a previous declaration of War. The 2nd Balkan War begins.
1920: The C-i-C of the Greek Army in Minor Asia, Lt. General Leonidas Paraskevopulos, orders the XIII Infantry Division, Archipelago Division and the Cavalry Brigade to attack the Turks occupying the Soma-keresun & Ayvali-kemer Heights.
Gen. Paraskevopulos with his staff officers
1940: French front cracking as the Germans break through in Champagne to Dijon, with units of XIX. Panzer-Korps reaching Besancon on the Swiss border. German forces, supported by heavy artillery and Stuka dive bombers, continue their assault against the Maginot Line on a broad front. The French government of Paul Reynaud resigns and is replaced by one led by Marshal Petain who immediately appoints Weygand as Minister of National Defence. 57,000 British troops are evacuated from Nantes and St. Nazaire.
Nice work, Valtrex. Keep 'em coming!
Great Read, Great Thread Man, Keep It Up.
06-16-2010, 09:27 AM
Great job vatrex.one question.Are u sure about kosovo battle,i was always thought and we always celebrated it on 28 of june on St.Vidus day.might be the Julian date that was 15j june
06-16-2010, 10:53 AM
Great job vatrex.one question.Are u sure about kosovo battle,i was always thought and we always celebrated it on 28 of june on St.Vidus day.might be the Julian date that was 15j june
I was really puzzled on the calendar issue (being Chrisitian Orthodox myself, I've learned that calendar is not something to be taken lightly ;)); So, I decided to follow the calendar the battle took place. I did the same thing for the Anglo-Dutch wars.You are obviously right.
06-17-2010, 04:18 AM
1497: During the Cornish Rebellion (a popular uprising by the people of Cornwall against the imposed by the King of England War Taxes on the impoverished Cornish, to finance a campaign against Scotland, led by the Cornish lawyer Thomas Flamank and Michael An Gof), the Battle of Blackheath occurs. A Royalist Army of 25,000-strong under King Henry VII, defeats some 9-10,000 Cornish rebels commanded by Michael Joseph the Smith (An Gof).
Commemorative plaque in Cornish and English for Michael Joseph the Smith (An Gof) and Thomas Flamank mounted on the north side of Blackheath common, south east London, near the south entrance to Greenwich Park
1920: During the Greek Campaign to Minor Asia, Greek Archipelago Division defeats the Turkish 61st Division in the Battle of Balikesir, near the site of the ancient Greek City of Adramytion.
Greek heavy artillery fires at the Turkish positions
1940: Liner RMS ”Lancastria”, with 3,000 British troops aboard, bombed and sunk at St. Nazaire, in North West France with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives.
06-17-2010, 10:29 AM
Liner RMS ”Lancastria”, with 3,000 British troops aboard, bombed and sunk at St. Nazaire, in North West France with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives.
Holy ****... :( We cannot even imagine such casualties today.
06-18-2010, 04:53 AM
1429: During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Patay occurs. 1,500 French under the leadership of Joan of Arc, defeat the 5,000-strong English longbowmen and cavalry under Sir John Fastolf. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years' War.
Battle of Patay from Les Vigiles de Charles VII by Martial d'Auvergne, written circa 1477-84
1757: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Kolin, near Prague, occurs. 44,000 Austrians under Leopold Joseph von Daun, defeat 32,000 Prussians under King Frederick the Great of Prussia. The battle was Frederick's first defeat in this war.
Frederick the Great in the battle of Kolin
1812: U.S. Congress declares War on the United Kingdom. President James Madison signs the Declaration of War on June 18.
1815: During the War of the 7th Coalition, the Battle of Waterloo occurs. An Imperial French Army commanded by the French Emperor Napoleon, is defeated by the combined Armies of the 7th Coalition, led by the Duke of Wellington. The defeat at Waterloo put an end to Napoleon's rule as Emperor of the French.
1913: A day after the Bulgarian surprise attacks against their former allies, General Constantine Kallares, C-i-C of the Greek forces comprising II Infantry Division and Cretan Gendarmerie, in Thessaloniki, sends the following message to the commander of Bulgarian forces cantoned in the city:
Sir, since Bulgarian troops began hostilities in the countryside against our Army, I have the honour to request you to leave the city of Thessaloniki one hour after the delivery of this letter. The arms of your men must be delivered to our officers, while your officers may keep their swords. A train will transport your men to the front and measures will be taken to allow them to safely pass the front line. After this deadline expires I must, to my regret, give orders that your troops will be considered hostile.
As expected, the Bulgarians ignored the ultimatum and plans for their disarmament were initiated. At 08:00 of 18 June, after an all-night clash, 1,279 Bulgarians (19 officers) are held prisoners.
1953: Men of the Greek Battalion of the Greek Expeditionary Force in Korea, defend OP ”Harry” (U.S. Army designation, Height 440), against consecutive Chinese attacks.
06-19-2010, 06:02 AM
1306: During the Wars of Scottish Independence (a series of military campaigns fought between the independent Kingdom of Scotland and England, in the late 13th-early 14th century), the Battle of Methven occurs. A 4,500-strong Scottish army under Robert I the Bruce, King of Scotland met the English army of some 3,000 men under the French-English nobleman Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, at Methven, near Perth, Scotland. Before dawn on 19 June Bruce's army was taken by surprise and almost destroyed. Scottish losses accounted for 4,000 dead. The English had 600 dead or wounded.
Robert the Bruce of Scotland
1807: During the Russo-Turkish War, fought between 1806-1812, the Naval Battle of Athos occurs. A Russian fleet commanded by Admiral Dmitry Nikolayevich Senyavin, attacked and destroyed an Ottoman fleet of some 20 naval vessels under Kapudan Pasha (Ottoman Admiral) Seyit-Ali, between the Athos peninsula and the island of Lemnos, in Greece. As a result of the battle, the Ottoman Empire lost a combat-capable fleet for more than a decade and signed an armistice with Russia on 12 August.
1821: Following the outbreat of the Greek War for Independence, on 25 March, a small force of 500 Greeks consisting a volunteer unit mostly made up of young Greek students studying in Europe, from both upper and middle classes, named ”Sacred Band”, formed by the brothers Alexandros and Nikolaos Ypsilanti, invaded the Ottoman-dominated Danubian principalities of Moldavia-Wallachia hoping for a Russian intervention on their behalf. They fought the Ottomans at the Battle of Dragashani, Wallachia on 19 June where the Sacred Band was destroyed by the better trained and better equipped Ottoman forces. The remaining Greeks led by Georgakes Olympios and Ioannes Kolokotrones, tried to escape to Greece. Olympios was killed in Moldavia in a clash with the Ottomans. Kolokotrones and his men arrived in Greece in August.
Alexandros Ypsilanti in a Russian hussar uniform. Although an ethnic Greek, he fought for the Russians in the battle of Dresden where his right hand was torn off by a shell
Battle of Dragashani: Ottoman cavalry attack Sacred Band
1940: The Germans invite the French to send a representative to discuss armistice terms as their troops reach River Loire, advance on Lyons, capture Strasbourg, Brest and Tours. Rommel's 7. Panzer-Division captures Cherbourg along with 30,000 prisoners.
Major General Erwin Rommel, then commander of the 7. Panzer-Division, with captured British officers in Cherbourg
1944: During the War in the Pacific, the Naval Battle of the Philippine Sea occurs. It was the largest aircraft carrier battle in history, fought on 19 and 20 June. The engagement proved disastrous for the Japanese Navy which lost three aircraft carriers and some 600 aircraft. Losses on the U.S. side on the first day were only 23, and on the second 100, most of them resulting from the night landings.
2009: Operation Panchai Palang (Panther's claw) in Helmand, Afghanistan: British troops begin, one of the largest air operations in modern times, when more than 350 troops made an aerial assault on Taliban positions and subsequently repelled Taliban counter-attacks.
06-20-2010, 02:24 AM
451: Battle of Chalons
The Battle of Chalons occurred on June 20, 451, in present-day France. Pitting Attila the Hun against Roman forces led by Flavius Aetius, the Battle of Chalons ended in a tactical draw but was a strategic victory for Rome. The victory at Chalons was one of the last achieved by the Western Roman Empire.
06-20-2010, 06:42 AM
1940: German troops capture Lyons and the vital port of Brest in Bretagne. French envoys drive behind German lines to receive armistice terms. Italian forces begin an offensive along the Riviera coast into France.
1945: Australian troops land at Lutong on Sarawak.
451: Battle of Chalons
The Battle of Chalons occurred on June 20, 451, in present-day France. Pitting Attila the Hun against Roman forces led by Flavius Aetius, the Battle of Chalons ended in a tactical draw but was a strategic victory for Rome. The victory at Chalons was one of the last achieved by the Western Roman Empire.
Also known as the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields.
Coin of Aetius, General/Ruler in Gaul under Valentinian III and one of the last great Roman Generals
06-21-2010, 04:06 AM
1798: During the Irish rebellion, the Battle of Vinegar Hill occurs. 15,000 British soldiers under General Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake, launched an attack on Vinegar Hill the largest camp and headquarters of the Irish rebels. The Irish army of 18,000 was routed and what ensued was a massacre of hundreds of stragglers, including many women and children, by the British cavalry and infantry.
1813: During the Peninsular War (a contest between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars), the Battle of Vitoria occurs. A 105,000-strong coalition army of British, Spanish and Portuguese under Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, defeated the 60,000-strong (11,000 cavalry) French army under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan near Vitoria in Spain, leading to eventual victory in the Peninsular War.
The Monument to the battle in Vitoria, Spain
1824: During the Greek War of Independence, the Turko-Egyptian Fleet of some 176 naval vessels under Hosref Pasha, disembarks 6,000 troops on the Greek island of Psara, one of the three Greek islands that played a key role and made many contributions to the war against the Ottomans with their vast navy and ships (the other two being the islands of Spetsae and Hydra). Out of its 30,000 inhabitants, 18,000 were either killed or captured alive and sold as slaves. The island never recovered from the complete destruction. The tragic event of the destruction of Psara inspired the poet Dionysios Solomos - the author of the "Hymn to Liberty" (the Greek National Anthem) - to write a poem about it, called "The Destruction of Psara":
"On the all-black ridge of Psara
Glory walks by herself taking in
the bright young men on the war field
the crown of her hair wound
from the last few grasses left
on the desolate earth"
The flag of the Psarian revolutionaries
1826: During the Greek War of Independence and the Egyptian invasion of Mani, Peloponnese, the Battle of Vergas occurs. 7,500 Maniots under Petros Mavromichales, defeated the 12,500-strong Egyptian army commanded by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt. The Egyptians suffered 3,900 casualties.
The Maniot Panoraea Vozikes. During the battle, she saw her father being captured alive by two Egyptians. She rushed headlong to them and killed them both with her reaping hook
1913: During the 2nd Balkan War, the Battle of Kilkis-Lachanas occurs. It was fought between the 85,000-strong Greek Army (73 Infantry Battalions, 33 Field Artillery Battalions, 9 Mountain Artillery Battalions, 8 Cavalry Squadrons and 8 Cavalry Troops) under the C-i-C of the Greek Army, Crown Prince Constantine and the 40,000-strong Bulgarian Army (32 Infantry Battalions, 1 Cavalry Regiment and 62 Artillery guns) under Field Marshal Nikola Ivanov occupying the town of Kilkis and the surrounding heights. The battle started on 18 June and it was generalised on the 21st. It ended at 11:15 of 21 June, when the Greek flag was hoisted on St. George height. The victory proved important for the Greeks and prejudged the outcome of the 2nd Balkan War. From Kilkis, the Greek Army marched towards Doiran, Kerkine, Strumnitsa, Delhi-Risar and Kressna straits. The victory was great, so were the casualties: 8,652 men killed & injured (37 Officers killed, 85 injured). There are no official records for the Bulgarian casualties. The Bulgarian POWs were 2,500 Officers & men.
Gerasimos Raphtopoulos (left) is the youngest ever NCO in the history of the Greek Armed Forces. He was born in Phiscardo, island of Cephallonia in 1900. During the 1st Balkan War, against the Ottomans, he volunteered at the age of 12 & was accepted as private of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the IV Division. For his courage in the battle of Sarandaporon he received a Manlicher-Schonauer rifle as a gift. In the battle of Kilkis-Lachanas, he managed to escape from enprisonment, killing 3 out of the 5 Bulgarian soldiers who had captured him. On his way back, he found a wounded Evzone & carried him with him. For his valour, he was promoted to the Corporal's rank on August 28th, 1913 at the age of 13
WWI-1919: Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet in Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I.
Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter
1942: Tobruk falls to the Italians and Germans, who capture 32,000 prisoners, 2,000 tons of fuel, 5,000 tons of food and 2,000 vehicles.
Italian Newsreel: The fall of Tobruk
1945: Organised resistance on Okinawa ends after 82 days of the bloodiest fighting in the Pacific, during which 98,654 Japanese have been killed and 6,922 captured. U.S. losses were 6,990 killed and 29,598 wounded.
06-24-2010, 05:33 AM
972: The Battle of Cedynia, the first historically recorded battle in the history of Poland occurs. Polish duke Mieszko I and his brother Czcibor defeated Hodon, the German Margrave of Brandenburg. This battle secured the western border of Polish territory.
Duke Mieszko I
1128: The Battle of São Mamede takes place near Guimarães and is considered the seminal event for the foundation of Portugal. Portuguese forces led by Afonso I of Portugal defeated forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernão Peres de Trava. Following São Mamede, the future king styled himself "Prince of Portugal". He would be called "King of Portugal" in 1139 and was recognised as such by neighbouring kingdoms in 1143.
Dom Afonso Henriques the future king of Portugal
1340: During the Hundred Years' war, the Naval Battle of l'Ecluse occurs. An English fleet of some 120-160 ships commanded by the English King Edward III himself, defeats the French Fleet of some 213 naval vessels under Admiral Hugues Quiéret. It is historically important in that it resulted in the destruction of most of France's fleet, making a French invasion of England impossible, and ensuring that the remainder of the war would be fought mostly in France.
1821: During the War for the Independence of Venezuela, the decisive Battle of Carabobo occurs. A Venezuelan Army of some 6-8,000 troops (the British volunteers of the British Legion included) under Simón Bolívar, defeated the Royalist Spanish Army of Field Marshal Miguel de la Torre. Bolívar's decisive victory at Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuela.
1859: During the 2nd Italian War of Independence, the Battle of Solferino and San Martino occurs. An Army of the Franco-Sardinian alliance numbering some 120,000 men under their respective Monarchs, Emperor Napoleon III & King Victor-Emmanuel II, defeated an Austrian Army of some 100,000 troops under the Austrian Emperor Franz-Joseph. It was the last major battle in world history where all the involved armies were under the personal command of their Monarchs. The battle is especially notable for being witnessed by the Swiss Jean-Henri Dunant. Horrified by the suffering of wounded soldiers left on the battlefield, Dunant set about a process that led to the Geneva Conventions and the establishment of the International Red Cross.
1866: During the Italian Unification process, the Battle of Custozza, near Verona, occurs. The Austrian Imperial army, led by Archduke Albert of Habsburg, defeated the Italian army led by Alfonso Ferrero la Marmora and Enrico Cialdini, despite the strong numerical advantage of the Italians. The Austrians were decisively victorious, both strategically and tactically. The Italians were driven back across the Mincio river out of Venice.
The charge of the 13th Regiment of Austrian-Hungarian Uhlans under Col. Rodakowski against Italian Bersaglieri
1941: Italian troops enter Athens, under the booing and the taunts of gathered Athenians.
The triple axis occupation of Greece; Red: German occupation. Blue: Italian occupation. Green: Bulgarian Occupation. Dark blue: Italian Dodecanese (Possedimenti Italiani dell'Egeo)
06-25-2010, 04:05 AM
524: During the Burgundian War initiated by the four successors of the Frankish King Clovis I, Childebert I, Chlodomir, Clotaire I and Theuderic I, the Battle of Veseruntia (Vézeronce-Curtin in today's France), occurs. The Burgundian Army under king Sigismund was defeated by the Frankish Army, but Chlodomir, the leader of the Frankish army, was killed in battle by Gundomar III, brother of Sigismund. In vengeance, Sigismund and his two sons were slain by the Franks after the battle. Clotaire and Childebert then completed their conquest at Veseruntia by defeating Gundomar and his allied Ostrogoths. The Frankish victory assured the annexation of the Burgundian kingdom to the Merovingians.
The four brothers Childebert, Chlodomir, Clotaire and Theuderic
841: Contention over the division of the Carolingian Empire between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, king of Aquitaine and co-emperor of the Franks (with his father Charlemagne) culminated in the decisive Battle of Fontenoy fought near Auxerre. It was a defeat for the allied forces of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine and a victory for Charles the Bald and Louis the German. It was a decisive divisionist victory (the Empire was divided between the three brothers two years later).
The partition of the Carolingian Empire in 843
1876: During the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, a two-day armed confrontation between the combined forces of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne and the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army occurs, also known as the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The U.S. Seventh Cavalry, including a force of 700 men led by George Armstrong Custer, suffered a severe defeat. Five of the Seventh's companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. Total U.S. deaths were 268, including scouts, and 55 were wounded.
Custer's last stand in the battle of littlebighorn
1920: During the Greek Minor Asia campaign, the Greek Cavalry Brigade enters and occupies the city of Bursa (the ancient Bithynian city of Prusa)
Greek cavalry in Bursa
1944: During the Continuation War (the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II) the Battle of tali-ihantala begins. it lasted until 9 July and to date, it is the largest battle in the history of the Nordic countries. The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was possibly the single most important battle fought in the Continuation War and it was a Finnish victory.
Finnish 75 mm anti-tank gun at Tali-Ihantala
1950: At approximately 4 a.m. (Korean Standard Time) on a rainy Sunday morning, Democratic People's Republic of Korea Army artillery and mortars open fire on Republic of Korea Army positions south of the 38th Parallel, the line then serving as the border between the two countries. The opening barrage is followed shortly by tank/infantry attacks at all points along the Parallel. At 11 a.m. North Korea announced a formal declaration of war and what is now known as "The Korean War" officially began.
2006: 19 year-old Israeli Corporal Gilad Shalit is captured by Palestinians in a cross-border raid.
06-26-2010, 10:35 AM
363: During his Sassanid campaign, Roman Emperor Flavius Claudius Iuli****, also known as Julian the Apostate, is killed in the Battle of Samarra. It is said that Julian's dying words were "Vicisti, Galilaee" (Thou have won, Galilean). General Flavius Iovi**** is proclaimed Emperor by the troops on the battlefield.
Bronze coin during the reign of Emperor Jovian
1913: During the Second Balkan War, the Greek X Infantry Brigade, after a two-day fight, drive off the Bulgarians occupying the Kerkine ridge and advances to the valley of Strumnitsa
WWI-1917: The first U.S. troops begin arriving in France. These are men of the U.S. 1st Division.
French soldiers watch as a large contingent of newly arrived Americans pass through a small village
1940: De Gaulle forms French Volunteer Legion in Britain.
1944: US troops enter Cherbourg taking the German garrison commander prisoner. The British Second Army begins a major offensive in the Odon valley, west of Caen, named Operation Epsom.
1950: During the Korean War, South Korean government - President Syngman Rhee and cabinet - leave Seoul for Taejon.
ROK President,Syngman Rhee
06-27-2010, 04:58 AM
1709: During the Great Northern War (an anti-Swedish alliance comprised Peter the Great of Russia, Frederik IV of Denmark-Norway and August the Strong of Saxe-Poland-Lithuania that fought Swedish Empire), the Battle of Poltava occurs. 42,500 Russians under Tsar Peter I the Great of Russia, defeated some 24,500 Swedish troops under the Swedish King Charles XII and Field Marshal,Count Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld. The Battle of Poltava was a disaster for Sweden and a turning point in the Great Northern War. Swedish casualties numbered 6,900 dead and wounded, as well as 2,800 taken prisoner. Among those captured was Field Marshal Rehnskiöld. Russian losses were 1,350 killed and 3,300 wounded.
Peter the Great, the conqueror of Poltava
1743: During thw War of the Austrian Succession, the Battle of Dettingen occurs. On the battlefield in Bavaria, the British Monarch, George II personally leads his troops into battle, the last time that a British monarch would command troops in the field. The British forces, in alliance with those of Hanover and Hesse, defeated a French army under Adrien Maurice de Noailles, 3ème duc de Noailles. With the French defeat at Dettingen, the Duc du Noailles missed the best opportunity to win the war for France.
King George II
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia campaign, large scale operations begin on the entire front by the entire Greek Army of Minor Asia (3 Army Corps, 12 Divisions, ca 200,000 troops) along the line Eskişehir (ancient Dorylaeum)-Kütahya (ancient Cotyaeum)-Afyonkarahisar (ancient Akroinum) against the Turkish revolutionaries of the Turkish National Movement under Mustafa Kemal (also known as Atatürk).
1941: Romanian troops conduct a pogrom against Jews in the town of Jassy, killing 13,000.
1941: Hungary declares war on the Soviet Union and agrees to send troops to help Army Group South.
Hungarian troops on the move, 1941
1950: The U.N. Security council passes a resolution calling for member nations to give military aid to South Korea.
1991: Slovenia, after declaring independence is invaded by 35,000 JNA troops, starting the Ten-Day War.
06-28-2010, 10:48 AM
1914: Archduke Franz-Ferdinand of Habsburg, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne and his wife Sophie are assassinated by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian Nationalist in Sarajevo. The Great War begins.
1919: The Treaty of Versailles is signed. It was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918 and in the shadow of the Russian Revolution and other events in Russia. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris - hence its title - between Belgium, Britain, France, Italy, the United States and allies on the one side and Germany and Austria-Hungary on the other side. The Versailles Palace was considered the most appropriate venue simply because of its size - many hundreds of people were involved in the process and the final signing ceremony in the Hall of Mirrors could accommodate hundreds of dignitaries. Many wanted Germany, now led by Friedrich Ebert, smashed - others, like Lloyd George, were privately more cautious.
1922: The Irish Civil War (a conflict waged between two opposing groups of Irish nationalists: The forces of the "Provisional Government" that established the Free State in December 1922, who supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty, and the Republican opposition, for whom the Treaty represented a betrayal of the Irish Republic. The war was won by the Free State forces) begins with the shelling of the Four Courts (the Republic of Ireland's main courts building) in Dublin by Free State forces.
1950: North Korean forces enter Seoul in the early afternoon and street fighting ensued but by midnight Seoul is in North Korean hands.
06-29-2010, 05:57 AM
1149: In the Battle of Fons Muratus (Fountain of Murad), the Syrian army of Nur ad-Din Zangi destroyed the Crusader army of Raymond of Antioch (he was killed in the battle) and the allied followers of Ali ibn-Wafa. After the victory, Nur ad-Din became a hero throughout the Islamic world.
1444: In the Battle of Torvioll, Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (Skanderberg), with the united Albanian armies of 15,000 men, defeated an Ottoman force of 25-40,000 troops under Ali Pasha. Thousands of Turks died while 2,000 were captured. The Albanians were originally attributed to have lost as little as 120 men, while modern sources suggest higher figures with about 1,800 dead and 2,000 wounded. Skanderbeg's victory was loudly praised throughout the rest of Europe. The Hungarians urged Skanderbeg to join their alliance against the Turks. The European states thus began to consider a crusade to drive the Turks out of Europe.
Gjergj Kastrioti is the national hero of Albanians, remembered for the restoration of the Albanian state in 1443 and the national war of liberation against the Ottomans
1644: During the English Civil War (a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists), the Battle of Cropredy Bridge occurs. A 5,000 horse, 4,000 foot Parliamentarian army under Sir William Waller, is defeated by the 5,000 horse, 4,000 foot Royalist army under King Charles I of England. The battle at Cropredy Bridge is the last battle won by an English King on English soil.
King Charles I of England
1659: The Battle of Konotop, fought between an army of the Ukrainian Cossacks under their Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and the Russians, occurs. It was a defeat for the Russian forces who tried to stop the Ukrainian leader from entering into an alliance with Poland and Lithuania.
1941: Hermann Göring is named Hitler's successor.
06-30-2010, 05:27 AM
1422: The Battle of Arbedo (canton of Ticino, Switzerland), fought between the Duchy of Milan and the Old Swiss Confederacy, occurs. A 11,000 foot, 5,000 horse, Milanese Army under Francesco Bussone, defeated a Swiss army of some 2,500 foot. The defeat at Arbedo persuaded the Swiss to increase the number of pikemen.
1651: During the Khmelnytsky Uprising (a Cossack rebellion in Ukraine that began in 1648 and turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland), the Battle of Berestechko ends. It lasted for two days (28-30 June, 1651) and it was a decisive Polish-Lithuanian victory. It led to the signing of the Treaty of Bila Tserkva according to which the number of Registered Cossacks decreased from 40,000 (the Treaty of Zboriv) to 20,000, and their seats located only on the territory of the Kiev Voivodeship.
Ukranian Cossack Colonel Ivan Bohun, fighting the Poles in the Battle of Berestechko
1758: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Domstadt occurs. A 30,000-strong Prussian Army under the Hussar General Hans Joachim von Zieten, is defeated by a 12,000-strong Austrian Army under Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon. The defeat shocked the Prussian camp. A memorial called Black Cross was built to the north-east of Domstadt (now Domašov in Czech republic) in 1858 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the battle.
The Black Cross
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia Campaign, the Greek IV Infantry Division, defeats the Turks and captures the town of Afyonkarahisar (ancient Akroinon).
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk with his staff officers, battle of Afyonkarahisar
1941: German forces of Army Group South capture the city of Lviv in Ukraine.
1944: The remaining 6,000 Germans in the Cherbourg peninsula surrender to the US VII Corps.
1950: Gen. MacArthur receives permission to deploy one (1) Regimental Combat Team (RCT) to Korea to establish a defense line in Pusan area to assure retention of the port. A few hours after this the order was expanded to 2 combat divisions and with permission to employ these forces against North Korean forces in the Suwon area. The United States was now fully committed to the Korean War.
US General Douglas McArthur
07-01-2010, 05:05 AM
1 July 1916. The british army suffering 60 000 casualties on this, the first day of that battle. Reading the book 'The first day on the Somme' just now.
The number of causalties starts to sink in when at the end of the book, the author writes that 28 battalions lost 500 men or more on this day.. Staggering losses indeed. May those poor men who fought and died in the trenches, rest in peace.
07-01-2010, 05:49 AM
We will remember them
07-01-2010, 05:51 AM
what a waste of life
07-01-2010, 05:52 AM
Look here: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?177957-On-this-day-in-Military-History/page8
There is a relevant thread and a post about the battle, so it's a repost.
07-01-2010, 05:55 AM
Look here: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?177957-On-this-day-in-Military-History/page8
There is a relevant thread and a post about the battle, so it's a repost.
Oh crap. Sry bout that..
07-01-2010, 02:28 PM
Lest We Forget...and i did :(
Look here: http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?177957-On-this-day-in-Military-History/page8
There is a relevant thread and a post about the battle, so it's a repost.
thanks for the link Korath,
07-02-2010, 04:32 AM
1298: During the contention for the throne of Holy Roman Empire, the Battle of Göllheim, occurs. It's fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg. It was a decisive Habsburg victory. Albert I of Habsburg was elected King of Romans.
The death of Adolf of Nassau
1644: During the English Civil Wars, the Battle of Marston Moor occurs. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters (a Scottish Presbyterian movement) under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron and Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, defeated the Royalists commanded by Ruprecht, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria and William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The defeat at Marston Moor was a serious blow to the Royalist cause. Oliver Cromwell's reputation as an effective cavalry commander and leader was cemented by his successful commanding of the Parliamentarian Cavalry, the Ironside at Marston Moor. Prince Ruprecht on the other hand, had been decisively beaten for the first time in the war and lost his reputation for invincibility.
The Scottish Covenanters' colours
1941: Troops of the German 11th, Romanian 3rd and 4th Armies begin an offensive from Moldavia toward the Black Sea port of Odessa.
Romanian Infantry; Siege of Odessa, 1941
1966: The French military explodes a nuclear test bomb codenamed Aldébaran in Mururoa, their first nuclear test in the Pacific. This was a test of the MR-50 CTC (Charge Tactique Commune - common tactical warhead). This was the first test in which a barge was used for the detonation of the nuclear device. The barge containing the nuclear device was moored at the Dindon testing sector on the western end of the atoll. This method of testing would be used for a further three tests (Rigel, Sirius, and Arcturus).
Aldébaran was detonated at 5:34 local time on July 2, 1966 with a yield of 28 kilotons. The MR-50 was the basis for the design of the AN-51 CTC and AN-52 CTC warheads.
2008: The French-Colombian politician, Íngrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages held by FARC guerrillas, are rescued by the Colombian armed forces, during Operation Jaque.
07-04-2010, 05:31 AM
1187: During the 3rd Crusade, the Battle of Hattin occurs. A 30,000-strong Muslim army under Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, defeated a 20,000-strong Crusader army under Guy of Lusignan. The Muslim forces captured the royal tent of Guy. Prisoners included Guy, his brother Amalric II, Raynald, William V of Montferrat, Gerard de Ridefort, Humphrey IV of Toron, Hugh of Jabala, Plivain of Botron, Hugh of Gibelet, and many others. Perhaps only as few as 3,000 Christians escaped the defeat.
The statue of the Kurdish Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin, in Kerak, Jordan
1456: During the Ottoman Wars in Europe, the Siege of Belgrade begins (it ended 18 days later in a desicive Christian victory). After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Ottoman sultan's Mehmet II, immediate objective was the town of Belgrade, then under Hungarian rule and at the Hungarian-Ottoman border. Hungarian nobleman János Hunyadi, with just 4,000 troops attacked the Turkish camp, compelling the wounded Sultan Mehmet II to lift the siege of Belgrade and retreat with his 30,000 men. The victory stopped the Ottoman Turkish advance towards Catholic Europe for 70 years.
The statue of Hunyadi in Budapest, Hungary; he died three weeks after his personal triumph, from plague
1610: During the Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618), the Battle of Klushino occurs. Polish-Lithuanian forces numbering about 4,000 men (of which about 80 percent were the famous winged hussars) under Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski defeated a numerically superior force of about 35,000-40,000 Russians under Dmitry Shuisky. Soon after the battle, Żółkiewski entered Moscow with little opposition.
The famous Polish Winged Hussars
1776: The Second Continental Congress (a convention of delegates from the Thirteen American Colonies that managed the colonial war effort), adopts the United States Declaration of Independence.
The five-man drafting committee of the Declaration of Independence presenting their work to the Second Continental Congress. The United States becomes a nation
1879: The last battle of the Anglo-Zulu War, occurs. A 5,000-strong British Force under General Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford, invaded and burnt to the ground the capital of the Zulu nation, uluNdi (=The high place, in Zulu).
The Zulu king Cetshwayo; he was captured on 28 August and exiled to London. Cetshwayo was restored to the throne of the subjugated Zulu kingdom shortly before his death in 1884
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia Campaign, the Greek X Division, after fierce firefight captures Kütahya.
Greeks of Kütahya
1943: 5,000 Greek guerillas of the National Republican Greek League (EDES) resistance group, under the former army officer, Colonel Napoleon Zervas, begin operations against the German and Italian forces on the whole of W. Greece. The fierceness of the Greek attacks against the axis forces cause the Germans to send two more divisions in the country, thus, increasing the number of the German divisions in the Balkans, to twelve. Italian occupying force comprise 10 divisions.
Colonel Zervas (2nd from the left) with fellow EDES officers
1976: Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
07-05-2010, 04:39 AM
1316: A combined Burgundian-Byzantine army under the titular king of Thessalonica and prince of Achaea, Louis of Burgundy, of the Capetian House of Anjou, defeated Ferran de Mallorca, the infante of Majorca in the Battle of Manolas, on the Elian plain of W. Peloponnese, Greece. Both monarchs claimed the Principality of Achaea in right of their wives. The defeat and death of Ferran, ensured the continued Anjou supremacy over Achaea.
Coin of the Principality of Achaea under Louis of Burgundy
1809: During the War of the 5th Coalition (a fifth attempt of the allied states of Austria and the UK to contain Napoleonic France), the Battle of Wagram occurs. A 136,000-strong Austrian Army under Archduke Karl of Austria, Duke of Teschen, was defeated by the 162,000-strong Napoleonic Army led by Napoleon Bonaparte, in the Battle of Wagram. The two-day battle of Wagram was particularly bloody for both sides but the Austrian defeat was serious enough to shatter the morale of the Austrians, who could no longer find the will to continue the struggle, hence deciding to accept a harsh peace treaty, which meant the loss of one sixth of the Empire's subjects, alongside significant territories.
1821: During the Greek War for Indpendence, an Ottoman fleet of some 36 ships, bombards the Greek island of Samos and disembarks 300 troops. The whole operation was a debacle: In the clash with the local population that follows, all 300 troops were killed.
The flag of the Samos revolutionaries; it was hoisted on the island on 17 April, 1821
1943: The Germans launch Operation Citadel, a massive offensive to encircle and destroy the Soviet forces in the Orel-Belgorod salient near Kursk on a 320-km (200 miles) front, with the 9th Army attacking from the North and 4th Panzer Army attacking from the South. The Germans have deployed 37 divisions totaling 900,000 men, which include 11 Panzer divisions with 2,500 tanks and assault guns, 10,000 guns and Nebelwerfers, as well as 1,800 aircraft. Against this, the Red Army has 1,300,000 troops in deeply echeloned defensive positions, protected by 8,000 land mines per square mile, 3,300 tanks, 20,000 guns and 2,500 aircraft. Taken together, the opposing forces in this operation constitute the largest concentration of military power ever assembled in history. In the northern sector, the Germans advance 10 km (6 miles), while in the southern sector they manage 40 km (25 miles) against stubborn Soviet resistance which inflicts heavy casualties.
1950: During the Korean War, the first clash between American and North Korean forces in the Battle of Osan occurs.
At 08:16, Task Force Smith (units of the 24th Infantry Division named for its commander; Task Force Smith consisted of 406 men of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, as well as 134 men of A Battery, 52nd Field Artillery Battalion) engages a N. Korean column of T-34 tanks with Artillery, 75mm recoiless rifles and 2.36" bazookas. The fire was accurate but proved ineffective. In total, 33 T-34 tanks went through Task Force Smith infantry positions by 9 a.m, two were disabled.
07-06-2010, 05:44 PM
371 BC: In the Battle of Leuctra, in Boeotia, Greece, on the road from Plataea to Thespiae, on the 5th of the month of Hecatombaeon (6 July), 8-9,000 Thebans (1,500 Cavalry), met and defeated 11-12,000 Spartans (1,000 Cavalry). The latter never recovered from the blow this disaster gave to their prestige. The credit for the victory falls to Epaminondas, who broke away from the traditional tactical methods of his time and employed for the first time in the history of war the modern principle of local superiority of force.
The Theban Sacred Band was a troop of 300 chosen men formed in 378 BC by the Theban general Gorgidas; Sacred Band played a key role in the Theban triumphs against the Spartans in the battles of Coronea, of Tegyra, of Leuctra and of Mantinea
1495: During the 1st Italian War (Charles VIII of France, who had initial Milanese aid, pitted against the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and an alliance of Italian powers called the Venetian League led by Pope Alexander VI), the Battle of Fernovo occurs. It was a French tactical victory and a Venetian strategic victory. Charles although won the battle, he left Italy without having gained anything.
1801: During the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Algeciras bay occurs. A British fleet consisted of seven ships of the line under Admiral James Saumarez, 1st Baron de Saumarez, defeated a French fleet of eight ships commanded by Admiral Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand, Comte de Linois.
07-07-2010, 05:18 AM
1770: During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the two-day Naval Battle of Chesme ends and the Battle of Larga occurs.
The Naval Battle of Chesme, was a Russo-Turkish naval engagement that took place in the Chesme bay, in the area between the Tukish coast and the Greek island of Chios. 16 Russian ships (4 fireships manned by Greeks) under Admiral, Count Alexey Grigorievich Orlov, defeated an Ottoman fleet of some 40 ships under Mandalzade Hüsameddin Pasha. It was the greatest naval defeat suffered by Ottomans since the Battle of Lepanto (1571).
The Battle of Larga, was a Russo-Turkish engagement that took place on the banks of the river Larga and lasted for eight hours. 38,000 Russians under Field Marshal, Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky, defeated an 80,000-strong Ottoman Army (65,000 Crimean Tatar Cavalry) under Kaplan Girey. For this victory, Rumyantsev was awarded the Order of Saint George of the 1st Degree.
Count Orlov (left), Count Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky
WWI-1915: The Italians end an unsuccessful attack against Austro-Hungary at what will be called the 1st Battle of Isonzo (there will be 12 Isonzo battles in total). Their losses exceed 14,000.
07-08-2010, 04:34 AM
1283: During the War of the Sicilian Vespers (the name given to a rebellion on the island of Sicily in 1282 against the rule of the French/Angevin king Charles I), the Naval Battle of Malta occurs. A fleet of 21 galleys under the Sicilian-Aragonese Admiral Roger de Llúria defeated a fleet of Angevin galleys commanded by William Cornut and Bartholomew Bonvin. Cornut was killed.
The statue of Roger de Llúria in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain
1716: During the Great Northern War, the Battle of Dynekilen occurs. A light Dano-Norwegian naval force under Peter Jansen Wessel, nom de guerre Tordenskjold (=Thundershield), trapped and defeated a similar Swedish force under Olof Strömstierna in Dynekilen fjord (just north of Strömstad), on the west coast of Sweden. 80 percent of the sailors and 90 percent of the soldiers in Tordenskjold's force were Norwegian.
Peter Jansen Wessel, aka Tordenskjold
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia Campaign, the two-day Battle of Eskişehir (in Greek Army nomenclature: Battle of Dorylaeum) begins. The Turkish Revolutionary Army, following their defeat in Kütahya, withdrew and redeployed along the line Eskişehir-Seyidi Gazi. On the morning of 8 July, a full scale attack is launched against the Greeks. This was the largest confrontation between the two sides in terms of numbers of armed forces during the whole war, as the Greeks threw in the battle 100,000 troops against a similar number of Turks. It was tactically a victory for the Greeks but strategically, the battle was of little importance as they failed to grasp the opportunity to encircle the retreating Turkish troops. Greek losses accounted for 6,472 men. Turks lost ca 12,000 men.
1944: The British Second Army begins a major offensive Operation Charnwood aimed at capturing Caen. The plan called for Lieutenant-General Crocker’s I (British) Corps to strike south directly towards the city with three divisions. On the right flank, the 3rd (British) Division was to strike SSW from Biéville towards the north-eastern part of Caen.
Simultaneously, in Crocker’s centre, the 59th Division was to thrust due south from Cambes. Finally, on the western flank, the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division was to strike south-east from Carpiquet towards the River Odon, located south-east of the city.
1944: The Soviets capture Baranovichi, Belarus, 130 km (80 miles) SW of Minsk. Lieutenant General Müller, the commander of German 12th Corps surrenders with 57,000 men. Army Group Centre's losses have now reached 300,000 men (28 divisions) in less than three weeks, since the beginning of the Soviet Operation Bagration.
1950: Korean War: President Truman names General Douglas MacArthur as Commanding General of United nations Military Forces and directs him to use the United Nations Flag, concurrently with the flags of the various nations participating, in the course of operations against North Korean Forces.
UN flag presentation to Douglas MacArthur, for use in the Korean War
07-09-2010, 04:45 AM
1790: During the Russo-Swedish War of 1788-1790, the Naval Battle of Svensksund occurs. Some 500 ships with 2,500 guns and 30,000 men, from Sweden and Russia, engaged in the Gulf of Finland outside the present day city of Kotka on 9–10 July 1790. It was a disaster for the Russians: they lost 40% of their fleet and at least 9,500 killed or captured. This defeat persuaded Russia to negotiate with Sweden eventually signing the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790.
1943: Operation Husky, the allied invasion of Sicily, begins, with the US 82nd and the British 1st Airborne Divisions making the first landings on Sicily at night. However, due to navigational errors, hundreds of U.S. paratroopers are dropped in the sea and are drowned, while many others are widely scattered and miss their assigned targets.
1944: A major Soviet offensive begins towards Riga, Latvia, in order to cut off Army Group North in Baltic States. The 2nd Belorussian Front attacks northwest from Vitebsk, the 3rd Belorussian Front attacks West from Psovsk and the Leningrad Front attacks southwest toward Narva.
1944: British and Canadians of the British Second Army enter Caen which has been reduced to a heap of rubble due to the preceding heavy aerial and artillery bombardments by the British.
Canadian troops entering Caen
07-10-2010, 05:13 AM
48 BC: During Caesar's Civil War (one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire, between Gaius Julius Caesar and the Senate), the Battle of Dyrrhachium (today's Durrës in Albania) occurs. It was fought between Julius Caesar's veteran legions and the Roman army led by Gnaeus Pompey the Great with the backing of the majority of the Senate. Caesar's legions attacked Pompey's camp, but the attackers were outmanned nearly two to one and though initially successful, they simply couldn't sustain the advantage. Caesar's right wing was flanked, began to buckle, panicked and eventually routed. Despite that Caesar lost just 1,000 men, it was a clear victory for Pompey and the Senate.
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus
1460: During the War of the Roses, the Battle of Northampton occurs. Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick and 6th Earl of Salisbury, defeats the king's Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner.
Henry VI, King of England
1645: During the English Civil War, the Battle of Langport occurs. A 20,000-strong Parliamentarian army under Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, nom de guerre Black Tom, destroyed the last Royalist field army of just 3,000 men under George, Lord Goring. This victory gave Parliament control of the West of England, which had been a major source of manpower, raw materials and imports for the Royalists.
Sir Thomas Fairfax
1913: During the Second Balkan War, the 6-day Battle of Kresna Gorge begins. The Greek Army crossed the Strymon (Struma in Bulgarian) river and invaded Bulgaria. The consolidated Bulgarian Army (1st Army under General Vassil Kutinchev of 79,370 men & 2nd Army under General Saravov of 122,748 men), that had been settled defensively at Simitli, launched attacks on both flanks of the Greek frontline, pushing them down the Strymon and Mesta River valleys. General Mikhail Savov was the Bulgarian Field Marshal. The Greeks deployed six Infantry Divisions (I, II, IV, V, VI, VII) and the Cavalry Brigade. Greek Field Marshal was the Cretan Major General Emmanuel M****oyannakes. At noon, Greek Divisions (I, VI), began their advance against the Bulgarian fortified positions set on Hassan Pasha height. They met the Bulgarians occupying the first line of defence who are fought obstinate. Greek troops, fixed bayonets and fought hand to hand with the Bulgarians. The Divisions faced severe casualties. On the next morning, the Bulgarians conducted strong counter-attacks aiming at the weak center of the Greek frontline (VI ID). They exerted so much pressure on the 9th Evzone Battalion of the 1/38 Evzone Regiment (8th-9th Evzone Btns) that General M****oyannakes sent the 18th Infantry Regiment to their aid. On Height 1378, the battle was epic. The fight turned to a savage bloodbath. Any sense of humanism was lost. The troops fought each other with rocks, bare hands, even their teeth. A Cretan soldier dropped his empty rifle and with his bayonet killed two Bulgarians before he was stabbed to death by five others. After the battle, the stab wounds on his dead body accounted for 22. Two Evzones, Sergeant Tolios & Private Makrakes of the 8th Evzone Battalion, fought alone, against a Bulgarian platoon. After the battle, the stab wounds on Tolios' dead body, accounted for 30. Makrakes was killed by an enemy machine gun volley. Around their dead bodies, a hillock of Bulgarian corpses was formed. Two Evzone Companies under Captain Manolides & Captain Karachrestos launched immediately an attack on the Bulgarian entrenchments to avenge their deaths. The battle on 1378 continued for two more days. Major Ioannes Velissariou, CO of the 9th Evzone Battalion, was killed on the second day.
On the morning of the last day of the battle of Kresna, the Bulgarians launched their final major offensive. Their entire 2nd Army launched a ferocious attack on the Greek III & X ID stationed at Petsovo & the VIII ID that was moving from Machomia to Kresna, that shook the entire Greek line. An armistice though, was at hands. Greeks lost around 10,000 men in the fighting at Kresna. Bulgarians had a similar number of casualties.
The Greeks at the straights of Kresna
The Greeks crossing the Strymon river; Georges Scott-1914
1940: Preliminary phase of Battle of Britain begins with German air attacks on Channel convoys with the aim of tempting the RAF in to battle. The Luftwaffe launches its first large scale attack on Britain as 70 aircraft attack the dock facilities at Swansea and the Royal Ordnance Factory at Pembrey in Wales.
1943: Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, is now fully underway with 12 divisions (160,000 men and 600 tanks) of the British Eighth and U.S. Seventh Armies being brought ashore by 3,000 landing craft (200 sunk by rough seas) on the south-east coast of Sicily. The British approaching Syracuse meet with little German resistance, the U.S. forces are held back by strong counter-attacks of the Fallschirm-Panzer-Division 1. Hermann Göring and the Italian Livorno Division.
Korean War-1950: At approximately 10:00, the first tank-to-tank battle of the Korean War took place south of 1st Battalion positions and Choch'iwon when 4 U.S. M-24 light tanks engaged the same North Korean tanks which had gone through 1st Battalion lines earlier in the day. U.S. tanks performed poorly, losing two while the North Korean's lost none. Later that afternoon the second tank-to-tank battle took place in the same area. This time U.S. M-24's lost none and destroyed two T-34 tanks.
07-11-2010, 05:30 AM
1302: During the French invasion of Flanders, the Battle of the Golden Spurs occurs, near Kortrijk, Flanders. An 8,000-strong French army led by Robert II, Count of Artois, invaded Flanders in an attempt to subdue it. Flanders was formally part of the French kingdom. The Flemish response consisted of two groups; one group which consisted of 3,000 men was led by William of Jülich and Pieter de Coninck. The other group, which consisted of about 2,500 men was led by Guy of Namur. From the East came another 2,500 men, led by Jan Borluut, and yet another 1,000 men led by Jan van Renesse. In the battle that followed the French suffered severe casualties (ca 1,000) while the Flemish lost just 100 men. The large numbers of golden spurs that were collected from the French knights gave the battle its name. Robert II, Count of Artois was killed in the battle.
The date of the battle is the official celebration day of the Flemish community in Belgium
1882: During the Second Anglo-Egyptian War, the British Mediterranean fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt. Admiral Sir Frederick Beauchamp Seymour was in command of a fleet of about 15 Royal Navy ironclad ships in the one-day bombardment of the city. The four Egyptian coastal batteries commenced fire against the ships with the result the death of 6 British crewmen. 27 British sailors were also wounded. Egyptian casualties were 680-700.
Alexandria after the British bombardment
1940: Marshal Petain replaces President Lebrun and proclaims himself Chief of French State of Vichy France.
1943: One of the bloodiest days of the massacre of Poles in Volhynia, W. Ukraine, takes place. The massacres orchestrated and conducted by the Ukrainian nationalists of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the military wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists — Bandera faction. UPA engaged in a series of guerrilla conflicts during World War II against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
1995: Over 8,000 Bosnian men and children (mostly Bosniaks) are killed by Serbian troops commanded by Ratko Mladic in Potočari near Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
07-12-2010, 10:13 AM
July 12, 1862: The Medal of Honor is approved by Congress:
A Brief History — The Medal of Honor*
The first formal system for rewarding acts of individual gallantry by the nation's fighting men was established by General George Washington on August 7, 1782. Designed to recognize "any singularly meritorious action," the award consisted of a purple cloth heart. Records show that only three persons received the ward: Sergeant Elijah Churchill, Sergeant William Brown, and Sergeant Daniel Bissel Jr.
The Badge of Military Merit, as it was called, fell into oblivion until 1932, when General Douglas MacArthur, then Army Chief of Staff, pressed for its revival. Officially reinstituted on February 22, 1932, the now familiar Purple Heart was at first an Army award, given to those who had been wounded in World War I or who possessed a Meritorious Service Citation Certificate. In 1943, the order was amended to include personnel of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Coverage was eventually extended to include all services and "any civilian national" wounded while serving with the Armed Forces.
Although the Badge of Military Merit fell into disuse after the Revolutionary War, the idea of a decoration for individual gallantry remained through the early 1800s. In 1847, after the outbreak of the Mexican-American War, a "certificate of merit" was established for any soldier who distinguished himself in action. No medal went with the honor. After the Mexican-American War, the award was discontinued, which meant there was no military award with which to recognize the nation's fighting men.
Early in the Civil War, a medal for individual valor was proposed to General-in-Chief of the Army Winfield Scott. But Scott felt medals smacked of European affectation and killed the idea.
The medal found support in the Navy, however, where it was felt recognition of courage in strife was needed. Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy medal of valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on December 21, 1861. The medal was "to be bestowed upon such petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and Marines as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry and other seamanlike qualities during the present war."
Shortly after this, a resolution similar in wording was introduced on behalf of the Army. Signed into law July 12, 1862, the measure provided for awarding a medal of honor "to such noncommissioned officers and privates as shall most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action, and other soldierlike qualities, during the present insurrection."
Although it was created for the Civil War, Congress made the Medal of Honor a permanent decoration in 1863.
Almost 3,400 men and one woman have received the award for heroic actions in the nation's battles since that time.
* Quoted from "Armed Forces Decorations and Awards," a publication of the American Forces Information Service. Copies of the pamphlet are available upon request (in print format only), via the "DefenseLINK Comment/Question Form" in the "Questions" section.
07-13-2010, 04:51 AM
1558: During the Franco-Spanish War of 1547-1559, the Battle of Gravelines, near Calais, France, occurs. An 18,000-strong Spanish Army under the Flemish nobleman Lamoraal, Count of Egmont, defeated a 14,000-strong French Army led by Paul de La Barthe de Thermes. The Spanish were supported by the English Navy, who opened fire on the French as they reached Gravelines.
Statue of Lamoraal van Egmont, on market square in Zottegem, Belgium
1643: During the English Civil War, the Battle of Roundway Down occurs. A Royalist force of some 1,800 horse, 2,000 foot under Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, won a crushing victory over the Parliamentarian force of some 2,500 horse, 1,800 foot under Sir William Waller. The Parliamentarian field army in south-west England was in effect destroyed operationally, allowing the Royalists to capture the port and major city of Bristol a few weeks later.
1794: During the French Revolutionary Wars (a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states), the Battle of the Vosges (a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany) occurs. An Allied army of around 70,000 Prussians, Austrians and Saxons under Prussian Field Marshal Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf, is defeated by the 115,000 French, led by General Claude Ignace François Michaud.
1941: The Montenegrin Uprising. Montenegrin partisans mounted an uprising against the Italian occupiers. As a result, almost the entire country is liberated.
The Political commissar of the 5th Montenegrin Brigade, Dragisa Ivanovic
1943: The British advance into Sicily continues with the capture of Augusta and Ragusa. The first allied ship that enters the port of liberated Augusta, is the Greek Destroyer RHNS "Kanares" (L-53) under Lt.Commander Damelates.
1943: The Baltos Regiment of the combined National Republican Greek League - National Groups of Greek Guerrillas (EDES-EOEA) resistance groups, engages the units comprising the Italian 11° Divisione di Fanteria "Brennero". The Italians were moving to Epirus with the purpose to be transported, through Albania, to Sicily, to assist the axis forces fighting the allies. The Italians of the "Brennero" Division, are bogged down in Greece until 21 July.
07-14-2010, 05:41 AM
1789: On the morning of July 14th, Parisian craftsmen and salesmen stormed the Bastille, a prison that was a symbol of the King's absolute and arbitrary power. Only 7 people were freed.
Some historians found the diary of King Louis XVI. On that day, July 14th, 1789 he only wrote "Nothing". That was the result of his day's hunting. When the Duc de Liancourt informed the King of what had happened at the Bastille, the King asked his advisor is this a revolt? and he was answered, No Majesty, this is a revolution
1900: During the Boxer Rebellion (a Chinese anti-colonialist, anti-Christian movement by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, known as Boxers in English), armies of the eight-nation alliance (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) capture Tianjin in NE China.
1916: As part of the Battle of the Somme, the Battle of Delville Wood begins. It lasted until 3 September and it was an engagement between the forces of Germany, UK and South Africa. Both the Allies and Germans suffered appalling casualties, caused largely by both sides continually committing new forces in piecemeal attacks against one another.
1944: An allied force of 158 Greek Commandos of the Sacred Band and 79 British Commandos of the 3rd Special Service Brigade, under the Greek Lt. Colonel Tryphon Triantaphyllakos, raid the Greek island of Symi, Dodecanese. The island's garrison comprised 53 German and 175 Italian troops. After a short skirmish, allied commandos capture 108 Italians and 41 Germans. Enemy casualties accounted for 9 dead, 17 wounded.
Korean War-1950: The Battle of Taejon (July 14–21, 1950), an early battle between United States and North Korean forces, begins. In the Taejon-Kongju area the US 24th Infantry Division was deployed with the 24th Reconnaissance Company watching principle river crossings west of Kongju, the 34th Infantry at Kongju, the newly arrived 19th Infantry Regiment at Taejon, and the badly mauled 21st Infantry Regiment (the 21st was down to a total strength of approximately 1,100 men, having 1,433 men missing-in-action during the first week of fighting) in blocking position southeast of Taejon. Eventually, US forces were overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean People's Army.
1969: The Football War: Following the inflamed rioting during the second North American qualifying round of the 1970 FIFA World Cup in 1969, the Salvadoran army launched an attack against Honduras. Both sides of the Football War suffered extensive casualties. Some 300,000 Salvadorans were displaced, while Salvadoran army lost about 900 troops. Honduras lost 100 combat troops, and over 2,000 civilians were killed during the early days, since most of the war was fought on Honduran soil.
07-15-2010, 05:24 AM
1099: During the First Crusade, the Crusaders stormed and captured the city of Jerusalem and eventually took the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, after eight days of difficult siege.
1240: During the Swedish–Novgorodian Wars, fought between Sweden and the Rus of the Novgorodian Land over the vital trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks, which was under Novgorod's control, the Battle of Neva occurs. A Swedish army of unknown strength, met and engaged a small Novgorodian army led by the 20-year old Prince Alexander Yaroslavich, on the Neva river. The result was a decisive Novgorodian victory. Because of this battle, 20-year-old Alexander was given the name of Nevsky (=of Neva).
Prince Alexander is a Saint of the Eastern Ortodox Church. He is greatly venerated by the Russians and the Bulgarians
1410: During the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War of 1409-1411, the 1st Battle of Tannenberg occurs. It's fought between a Polish-Lithuanian army under the King of Poland Władysław II Jogaila and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas, and the Knights of the Teutonic Order under Ulrich von Jungingen. The defeat of the Teutonic Knights was resounding. About 8,000 Teuton soldiers were killed and an additional 14,000 were taken captive.
The Monument to the battle in Cracow, Poland
1815: Napoleon surrenders to Captain Frederick Maitland of the HMS Bellerophon and is transported to Torbay in SW England. The Napoleonic Wars officially end.
WWI-1918: The Allies counterattack against German forces, seizing initiative on the Western Front immediately after the last major German Spring Offensive on the Western Front during World War I, the Second Battle of the Marne. The battle ended on 6 August as an overwhelming Allied victory. Généralissime (=Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies) Ferdinand Foch received the baton of Marshal of France.
The baton of Marshal of France has the Latin inscription: Terror belli, decus pacis (=Terror in war, ornament in peace)
1974: In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek Junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d'état, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
07-16-2010, 04:54 AM
1212: During the Reconquista (a period of nearly 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula succeeded in retaking it from the Muslims of Al-Andalus Province), the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa occurs. A 50,000-strong combined army of King Alfonso VIII of Castille, Sancho VII of Navarre, Pedro II of Aragon and Afonso II of Portugal fought and defeated a 200,000-strong Berber Muslim Almohad force made up of people from the whole Almohad empire, under Caliph An-nasir li-din allah muhammad ben al-mansur, commonly known as Miramamolín, near Las Navas de Tolosa, Jaén, Andalusia. The crushing defeat of the Almohads (they lost ca 100,000 dead, wounded or captured) significantly hastened their decline both in the Iberian Peninsula and in the Maghreb a decade later.
The monument to the battle
1683: Chinese Manchu Qing Dynasty naval forces defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu, near the Pescadores Islands. The defeat at Penghu resulted in the Zheng Keshuang's (King of Tungning) surrender to Qing.
1918: Czar Nicholas II, his family, the family doctor, their servants and their pet dog are shot by the Bolsheviks, who had held them captive for 2 months in the basement of a house in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
The Romanovs in 1911
1942: 12,887 Jews of Paris are rounded up and sent to Drancy Internment Camp located outside the city, then shipped by rail to Auschwitz, in what is known today as the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup. Few of the transported Jews survived. French president Jacques Chirac apologised in 1995 for the complicit role French policemen and civil servants served in the raid.
1945: The Three-Power Summit Conference opens at Potsdam, Germany. The leaders of the three Allied nations, British Prime Minister Clement Atlee, US President Harry S Truman and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin, meet to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
1945: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon at the Trinity site near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
07-18-2010, 06:29 AM
390 BC: During the first Gallic invasion of Italy, the Battle of the Allia river occurs. It's fought near the Allia river between the 15,000-strong Roman army and the 30,000 Gauls under Brennus. When the Gauls attacked, the Roman flanks were routed leaving the Roman centre to be surrounded and slaughtered. The news of defeat spread panic amongst Romans who barricaded themselves on the Capitoline Hill. The rest of the city was left undefended and thus it was plundered by the Gauls and almost all Roman records were destroyed. According to the Roman historian Livy, Brennus and the Romans negotiated an end to the war and the latter agreed to pay one thousand pounds of gold. To add insult to injury, it was discovered that Brennus was using heavier weights than standard for weighing the gold. When the Romans complained, Brennus is said to have thrown his sword and belt on the scales and adding in Latin, Væ Victis (woe to the vanquished).
1656: During the Second Northern War (fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy and Denmark-Norway) the three-day Battle of Warsaw begins. The 19,000-strong allied army of Sweden and Brandenburg, commanded by King Charles X of Sweden and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg defeated an allied Polish-Lithuanian army of some 36,000 men of which only about 4,000 were infantry and the remainder cavalry & dragoons, with 18 artillery pieces commanded by the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania John II Casimir. The Polish king's defeat led him to concede sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia to Brandenburg.
1944: The U.S. XIX Corps captures Saint-Lô, but has suffered 6,000 casualties since the beginning of the operation to capture the town.
1996: During the Sri Lankan Civil War, the Battle of Mullaitivu begins. It was fought between the Sri Lankan army (215th Brigade with 1,407 troops) and the 4,000-strong Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam army. It lasted until 25 July and it was a Tamil Tiger victory. The Sri Lankan military lost at least 1,200 troops. The LTTE claimed 332 of its men killed.
07-19-2010, 08:06 AM
711: The Battle of the Río Barbate, near Cadiz, Andalusia occurs. The Visigothic army under the Vigothic King of Hispania Roderic, was defeated by a North African Muslim army comprised of Arabs and Berbers commanded by the Umayyad general Tariq Ibn Ziyad. The battle was significant because it marks the beginning of the Islamic conquest of Hispania. In the battle Roderic probably lost his life. With the defeat of the regular Visigothic army and the death of their monarch, many Visigoths lost their resolve to resist the invading Muslim forces, opening the way for the capture of Visigothic capital of Toledo.
Georg Friedrich Händel's opera Rodrigo (Roderic) is dedicated to the last king of the Goths
1544: During the Italian War of of 1542–1546 (a conflict pitting Francis I of France and Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Henry VIII of England), the Siege of Boulogne begins, during King Henry VIII of England's second invasion of France.
Battles of the Italian War of 1542-1546
1864: During the Taiping Rebellion (a Chinese Civil War pitting the Christian convert Hong Xiuquan - an ethnic Hakka Chinese - who had established the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace, with its capital at Nanjing and his followers, against the Qing Dynasty) the Battle of Nanking ends in a decisive Qing victory. It lasted for three days and probably more than a million troops engaged in the battle. The Taiping army sustained 100,000 dead and the Imperial troops, commanded by Zeng Guofan, slaughtered much of the city's population. The battle was a testing ground for the first modern Chinese firearms used in the battle.
1870: Following the public release of Ems Dispatch, an internal message of the Prussian King with alleged insults between him and the French ambassador, France mobilized, and on 19 July declared war on Prussia only, but the other German states quickly joined on Prussia's side. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 begins.
The Ems Dispatch
1916: As a diversion to the Battle of the Somme, that was taking place about 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the south, the two-day Battle of Fromelles begins. The Australian 5th Division and the British 61st Division commenced an assault against the left and right flank respectively of the German 6th Bavarian Reserve Division. The whole operation completely failed as a diversion. 5,533 Australians were killed, wounded, or captured; 1,500 British were killed or wounded. The Australian 5th Division was effectively incapacitated for many months afterwards.
1940: The Italian Cruiser, Bartolomeo Colleoni is sunk off Cape Spada, near Crete by HMAS "Sydney" (I48/D48) during the Battle of Cape Spada, an engagement of the British fleet with the Italian fleet.
Bartolomeo Colleoni exploding during the Battle of Cape Spada. 555 survivors of Bartolomeo Colleoni were rescued; 121 died
1944: A German convoy of 13 military trucks with 200 troops is attacked by the men of the 1/9 Battalion of the 9th ELAS (Greek People's Liberation Army) Regiment, in Messenia, SW Peloponnese. German casualties accounted for 150 dead and wounded. ELAS casualties accounted for 18 dead, the Regiment's CO included (Colonel Elias Sphakianakes).
07-20-2010, 05:40 AM
70: During the Great Jewish Revolt (the first major rebellion by the Jews of the Judea Province, against the Roman Empire), Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, storms Jerusalem. The Roman army is drawn into street fights with the Zealots.
Rome: The Arch of Titus, depicting and celebrating the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the Temple
1402: Battle of Ankara: The army of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I, while his forces lay siege to Constantinople, is attacked and defeated by the Turko-Mongolian army of Tamerlane. Because of the Timurid invasion, the siege of Constantinople was lifted and the city survived for 51 more years.
Sultan Bayezid imprisoned by Tamerlane
1866: During the Third Italian War of Independence (a conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire) the Naval Battle of Lissa occurs, near the island of Vis in today's Croatia. The Italian fleet of 12 ironclads and 17 unarmoured ships under the Piedmontese Count Carlo Pellion di Persano engaged an Austrian fleet of 7 ironclads and 11 unarmoured ships under Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. The Italians withdrew with two armoured ships sunk. Count di Persano was dismissed from the navy for cowardice while Tegetthoff returned home a hero and is considered one of the greatest naval commanders in Austrian history.
1944: An attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler at his Rastenberg headquarters is undertaken as part of Operation Valkyrie by the German army officer and Catholic aristocrat Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. The attempt failed and Stauffenberg was executed by firing squad.
Claus von Stauffenberg
1961: French military forces (800 French paratroopers) break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte (Tunisia imposed a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte, Tunisia, hoping to force its evacuation) by launching a full-scale invasion of the town. In the three-day battle that follows, Tunisian forces suffer 630 dead and 1,555 wounded. French losses acounted for 24 dead and 100 wounded.
1974: Turkish forces (an armada of 33 ships, including troop transporters and at least 30 tanks and small landing craft) invade Cyprus five days after the coup d'état, organised by the dictators of Greece, in which President Makarios was deposed. Turkish paratroopers that land near the Greek contingent of ELDYK (Hellenic Forces of Cyprus), meet fierce resistance from the Greek forces. HNS "Lesbos" (L172), an LST, under Lt. Commander Eleutherios Chandrinos, while sailing 40 n.m. SW of Cyprus en route to Piraeus, Greece, receives news of the situation, changes route to Paphos and with her 40 mm Bofors guns, shells for two hours (15:30-17:30) the Paphos Castle (Turkish-Cypriot HQ) and the Turkish pocket of Muttalos (hosting two Turkish-Cypriot Battalions). Greece orders a general mobilization. Syria and Egypt put their militaries on alert.
LST Lesbos and her CO, Lt.Cdr. Chandrinos
2006: Ethiopian troops enter Somalia. Alongside the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces fight against the Somali Islamist umbrella group, the Islamic Court Union (ICU), and other affiliated militias for control of the country.
07-21-2010, 05:11 AM
1403: During the Welsh Revolt (an uprising of the Welsh, led by Owain Glyndŵr, against England. It was the last major manifestation of a Welsh independence movement before the incorporation of Wales into England), the Battle of Shrewsbury occurs. A 10,000-strong Welsh Rebel army under Sir Henry Percy, nom de guerre Hotspur, is defeated by an 11,500-strong army led by the Lancastrian King, Henry IV. The King's forces sustained much greater losses than the rebels, in fact Henry IV very nearly lost both his life and his throne. Henry Percy was killed in the battle and burried at Whitchurch, Shropshire but due to circulating rumours that he was not really dead, the King had him disinterred. His body was salted, set up in Shrewsbury impaled on a spear between two millstones in the pillory in the marketplace, with an armed guard and was later quartered and put on show in the four corners of the country. His head was sent to York and impaled on the north gate, looking towards his own lands. His quarters were sent to Chester, London, Bristol and Newcastle-on-Tyne. In November his grisly remains were returned to his widow Elizabeth. She interred them in York Minster at the right hand side of the altar.
Death of Sir Henry Hotspur Percy
1568: During the Eighty Years' War, the Battle of Jemmingen (today's Jemgun in Lower Saxony, Germany) occurs. The Spanish army of 12,000 infantry (4 tercios) and 3,000 cavalry under Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba, defeated a 10,000-strong Dutch Rebel army under Louis of Nassau. The battle raged for three hours until Alba's army drove them over the bridges of the Ems river and eventually into the Ems itself. Many drowned trying to cross the river, Louis *****ped himself of his heavy armor and was able to swim across to safety. In the end the Dutch rebellion lost 7,000 men.
The victor, Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, 3rd Duke of Alba
1774: With the signing of the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji (today's Kaynardzha, Bulgaria), the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 ends with an Ottoman defeat. The treaty granted Eastern Orthodox Christians the right to sail under the Russian flag, which served as the catalyst for the establishment of large naval fleets by the Greek islanders of Hydra, Spetsae and Psara that played a key role some fifty years later, in the Greek War of Independence.
A Hydrean archontissa (=noblewoman). Many prominent Hydrean shipowners were women
WWI-1918: German Unterseerboot 156 (U-156) under Kapitänleutnant Richard Feldt, sinks the tug Perth Amboy and four barges off Cape Cod, Massachussets, and opens fire on the Massachussetian town of Orleans. Four seaplanes from the Naval Air Station, Chatham, Massachussets, attack the surfaced German submarine which submerges after returning the planes' fire.
1944: U.S. Marines land on Guam, establishing beachhead up to a mile inland. The 3rd Marine Division landed near Agana to the north of Orote at 08:28, and the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade landed near Agat to the south. The battle would end on August 10. US casualties accounted for 1,747 killed, 6,053 wounded. Japanese lost 18,040 killed. Only 485 were captured alive.
1960: The atomic powered ballistic missle submarine USS "George Washington" (SSBN-598), successfully conducted the first Polaris missile launch from a submerged submarine. At 12:39 hours George Washington's commanding officer sent President Dwight Eisenhower the message: POLARIS - FROM OUT OF THE DEEP TO TARGET. PERFECT. Less than two hours later a second missile from the submarine also struck the impact area 1,100 n. m. downrange.
1974: During the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, Operation Nike, the transport of the 300 Greek Commandos of the 1st Commando Battalion (A' MK) and its equipment from Souda, Crete, to Nicosia airport in Cyprus, takes place. On the night of 21 July, at 22:30 hours, 15 ageing Nord 2501 Noratlas, of the 354 Transport Squadron Pegasus, take off at night, with no fighter escort, fly in radio silence, at very low level, with minimum lights and no visual contact between aircraft, land in Nicosia, unload the force and take-off right away for the return to Greece. Near the Nicosia airport, they encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire, which led to the destruction of two Noratlas and the death of 33 Commandos and crew members. For a much more thorough and in detail review, please refer to OPERATION "NIKI" 1974-A Suicide mission to Cyprus-by Mihail Solanakis (http://koti.welho.com/msolanak/kyprosengl.html).
The Commandos of A' MK with their CO, Major Georgios Papameletiu in 1974
1977: The four-day Libyan-Egyptian War begins. Tension between the two countries had increased during April and May 1977 as demonstrators attacked the embassies of both countries. On 21 July, gun battles between troops on the border began, followed by land and air attacks on both sides (three Libyan Brigades clashed with three Egyptian Divisions). The mediation by president of Algeria Houari Boumediène and PLO leader Yasser Arafat, led to a ceasefire and an agreed armistice on 24 July. The outcome was a clear Egyptian victory. Libyans lost 400 dead and wounded. 60 tanks were destroyed. 20 Libyan Mirage V, 1 MiG-23MS aircraft were destroyed on the ground during an Egyptian strafing attack. Egyptian casualties accounted for 100 dead and wounded. 4 Egyptian MiG-21, 2 Sukhoi Su-20 aircraft were lost.
07-25-2010, 05:25 AM
1139: During the Reconquista, the Battle of Ourique occurs. The forces of Portuguese Prince Afonso Henriques defeated the Almoravid Muslim army led by Ali ibn-Yusuf, near Ourique (Baixo Alentejo Province, southern Portugal). Immediately after the battle, King Afonso I of Portugal called for the first assembly, consisting of representatives from all of Portugal's provinces, at Lamego, where he was given the Crown from the Bishop of Braga, to confirm the Portuguese independence from the Kingdom of León and Castille.
Pope Alexander III, sends the royal crown to Dom Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal
1261: Byzantine forces under Alexios Strategopulos, recapture Constantinople which for the last 57 years (since its capture by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in 1204) had been the seat of the Latin Empire of Imperium Romaniæ. On August 15, the day of the Dormition of the Mother of God for the Orthodox Christians, Emperor Michael VIII Palæologus, entered the city in triumph and was crowned at the Hagia Sophia.
The "national anthem" of the Byzantine Empire. It's a hymn dedicated to the City's Champion General, Mary, the Mother of God: To thee, the Champion General, we thy City exclaim victory hymns and thanksgiving as ones rescued out of sufferings, O Theotokos (=Mother of God); Having kept the state unassailed, free us also from every peril, that we may cry unto thee: Rejoice, thou Bride Unwedded. The hymn was probably composed in 626 AD by Patriarch Sergius on the occasion of the Byzantine victory over the Avars who laid siege to Constantinople while Emperor Heraclius and the bulk of the army were on campaign against Sassanid Persia
1814: During the Anglo-American War, the Battle of Lundy's Lane, in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario, occurs. A British army of 3,500 men with 8 guns, under Lieutenant General Sir Gordon Drummond, was attacked by the 2,500-strong US army (6 guns), under Major General Jacob Brown. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war, and one of the deadliest battles ever fought on Canadian soil. There is some dispute about the actual outcome of the battle. Some historians say that the Americans retreated, based upon General Drummond's report that the British ultimately held the field. Others state that the British retreated during the night but recaptured the position in the morning after the Americans retreated because of exhaustion and lack of supplies. Both views may be regarded as correct.
Lundy's Lane is mentioned in the second verse of the unofficial Canadian patriotic anthem, "The Maple Leaf Forever":
At Queenston Heights and Lundy's Lane our brave fathers, side by side
for freedom, homes, and loved ones dear, firmly stood and nobly died.
And those dear rights which they maintained, we swear to yield them never.
Our watchword evermore shall be, the Maple Leaf forever!
1943: Benito Mussolini is arrested by order of the Italian King. Marshal Badoglio, a First World War hero becomes Prime Minister, introduces martial law and incorporates the Fascist militia into the ordinary armed forces, thus ending the Fascist regime in Italy. Hitler orders German divisions rushed South in to Italy to disarm their former allies. Allied forces begin to face stiff resistance as they approach Messina.
Marshal Pietro Badoglio
1944: The US VII Corps launches Operation Cobra in an attempt to breakout from the southern end of the Cherbourg peninsula, near St. Lô. The II Canadian Corps launches Operation Spring, an offensive operation South of Caen. One of the bloodiest days for the Canadian Army during WWII: 1,500 casualties, including 450 killed.
1944: Narva, the third largest city in Estonia, is evacuated by the Germans, who take up position along the Tannenberg position to the West. Soviet forces cut the road between Dvinsk and Riga in Latvia. The Soviet Second Tank Army reaches the Vistula, 40 miles West of Lublin, Poland. Lviv, in Western Ukraine is surrounded and Soviet forces converge on Brest-Litovsk.
07-26-2010, 05:44 AM
811: During the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars, the Battle of Pliska occurs. Following the sack of the Bulgarian capital, Pliska, that took place three days earlier, a 60-80,000-strong Byzantine army under the Emperor Nikephoros (or Nicephorus) I, entered the Varbica Pass, the shortest way for their return to Constantinople. Bulgarian Khan, Krum, mobilised his people (including the women) to set traps and ambushes in the mountain passes and at dawn of 26 July, they rushed down and started to kill the panicked and totally confused Byzantines. The Byzantines fruitlessly resisted for a short time and perished. Emperor Nicephorus was killed in the battle. According to legend, Krum had the Emperor's skull lined with silver and used it as a drinking cup.
The statue of Khan Krum in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
1469: During the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Edgecote Moor, occurs. The battle pitted the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, against those of King Edward IV. Its outcome was a clear Lancastrian victory and is considered to be an important turning point in the course of the war.
King Edward IV of England
Well, i guess others can contribute to this too?
26.th of July last major offensive by USSR in Continuation war, Battle of Ilomantsi, starts. It is started by two divisions (176th & 289th). Their plan was to take control the road that crosses at Ilomantsi and then advance to the flank of Finnish VI AK (troops of 4th, 8th and 4th division) that had already stopped Soviet offensive.
The Finns had three units, exhausted 21th brigade, Cavalry Brigade and Osasto Partinen that consisted of two battalions. These units were led by Jäger Major General Erkki Raappana who had already been granted Mannerheim Cross.
His units first encircled these two divisions in two motti's and then split these to smaller motti's. Three Naval Rifle brigades (69th 70th 3th), one armored brigade and one pioneer brigade came to the aid for the two divisions, but their attacks were repelled.
The battle ended in 13th of October when remnants of the two divisions broke trough and fled to the east.
Finnish troops captured over 100 artillery pieces and around 100 mortars after the battle.
07-27-2010, 05:23 AM
1214: Battle of Bouvines: A conclusive medieval battle, important to the early development of the French state by confirming the French crown's sovereignty over the Norman lands of Brittany and Normandy. A 15,000-strong French army of Philip II Augustus, King of France, defeated a 25,000-strong allied army of Otto IV of Germany and count Ferrand of Flanders so decisively, that Otto was deposed and replaced by Frederick II Hohenstaufen. Ferrand was captured and imprisoned.
Additionally, the defeat led to their ally, John, King of England being forced to sign Magna Carta by his discontented barons.
The coronation of Philip II Augustus as King of France, in the presence of Henry II of England
1302: During the Byzantine-Ottoman Wars, the Battle of Bapheus (outside Nicomedia, today's İzmit) occurs. A Byzantine force of some 2,000 men, half of whom were recently hired Alan mercenaries, under Georgios Mouzalon, met an Ottoman Turkish army of some 5,000 light cavalry under Osman I, himself. The battle ended in a crucial Ottoman victory, cementing the young Ottoman state and heralding the final capture of Byzantine Bithynia by the Turks.
Osman or Othman, the leader of the Ottoman Turks, and the founder of the dynasty that established and ruled the Ottoman Empire
1689: During the Glorious Revolution (the overthrow of King James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch stadtholder William of Orange who, as a result, ascended the English throne as William III of England together with his wife Mary II of England) the Battle of Killiecrankie occurs. It's fought between Highlander clans and Irish, supporting King James VII of Scotland (also known as James II of England) and Highlander and Lowlander troops supporting King William of Orange. Although it was a stunning victory for the Jacobites, it had little overall effect on the outcome of the war and left their leader (John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee) dead.
King William III of England
1720: During the Great Northern War, the Naval Battle of Grengam occurs. It's fought in the Åland Islands, between Sweden and Finland. A group of Swedish ships under Vice Admiral Carl Georg Siöblad attacked the Russian fleet under General Admiral Mikhail Mikhaylovich Golitsyn and, in a pitched battle, had their four frigates, the 34-gun frigate Stor Phoenix, the 30-gun Vainqueur, the 22-gun Kiskin and the 18-gun Danska Örn, captured by Russian sailors.
The victor, Prince Mikhail Mikhaylovich Golitsyn
1880: During the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the Battle of Maiwand occurs. The battle ended in defeat for the British Army (Brigadier General George Burrows) and victory for the Afghan followers of Ayub Khan. The Afghan victory at Maiwand was at a cost of anywhere between 2,050 to 2,750 Afghan warriors killed and probably about 1,500 wounded. On the other side, about 969 British/Indian soldiers were killed and 177 more wounded, this represented approximately 75% of their combat force. The Battle of Maiwand was one of the few occasions in the 19th century where an Asian army defeated a Western power. Following his victory at Maiwand, Ayub Kahn was able contain the British in Kandahar until he was decisively defeated outside the city on September 1.
E Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, escaping from the overwhelming Afghan attack at the Battle of Maiwand
1953: The United States, North Korea and China sign an armistice, which ends the Korean War but fails to bring about a permanent peace. To date, the Republic of Korea (South) and Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea (North) have not signed a peace treaty. A total of 629,000 on both sides died in battle, or from battle-related injuries, during the Korean War.
07-28-2010, 05:16 AM
1364: The Battle of Càscina: An engagement between the Pisan troops who had the help of the 3,000 cuirassiers of the English mercenary Sir John Hawkwood (or according to the Italian chronicles, Giovanni Acuto) against the 11,000 infantry and 4,000 knights of the Florentine army under Galeotto Malatesta. The outcome was a clear Florentine victory thanks to their good flexibility and effective tactical deployment. The victory led to the death of a thousand Pisan soldiers and the capture of another 2,000 fighters.
Michelanglo was commissioned a celebrative painting but he unfortunately never executed it. His student, Aristotele da Sangallo made a black and white painting, based on Michelangelo's cartoon
1809: During the Peninsular War, the two-day Battle of Talavera ends. A 21,000-strong Anglo-Portuguese army under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, combined with a 35,000-strong Spanish army under Gregorio García de la Cuesta y Fernández de Celis, fought a 46,000-strong French army led nominally by Napoleon's elder brother and King of Spain, Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte (his military advisor, Marshal Jean-Baptiste Jourdan exercised command). The French suffered most in this hard-fought battle, losing 7,400 killed or wounded. Equivalent Spanish casualties were about 1,200 and British 5,500. After this battle Wellesley was created Viscount Wellington of Talavera.
The Duke of Wellington
1821: José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain and is voted the Protector of the newly independent nation.
1914: Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia.
07-29-2010, 06:21 AM
1014: During the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars, the Battle of Kleidion (or Clidium) occurs. A Byzantine force led by Emperor Basil II, while desperate after the heavy casualties they suffered in the futile attempts to assault the Bulgarian thick wooden wall, built to prevent further enemy invasions, General Nikephoros (or Nicephorus) Xiphias and his troops, managed to find a path which led them into the Bulgarians' rear. As a result the Byzantines infiltrated and attacked the rear of the 20,000-strong Bulgarian army, achieving a major victory. Bulgarian Tsar Samuel himself barely escaped, only breaking free through the bravery of his son Gabriel-Radomir, who mounted his father on his own horse and took him to safety in Prilep. Byzantine historian Ioannes Skylitzes records that Basil completely routed the Bulgarian army and, according to John Skylitzes's account of the battle, took 15,000 prisoners. Basil divided the prisoners into groups of 100 men, blinded 99 men in each group and left one man in each with one eye so that he could lead the others home; this was done in retaliation for the death of Basil's friend and General, Theophylaktos (or Theophylactus) Botaniates, who was killed by Samuel's son and heir to the Bulgarian throne Gabriel-Radomir. For this action, Basil gained the nickname Bulgaroktonos (Greek: Βουλγαροκτόνος), "the Bulgar-slayer". Samuel could not bear the sight of his mutilated soldiers. He died of a heart attack on 6 October, 1014.
Emperor Basil II, the Bulgar-slayer
A 14th c. Byzantine m****cript depicting the Battle of Kleidion (upper half) and the death of Tsar Samuel before his mutilated soldiers (lower half)
1030: During the Norwegian Succession Wars (fought between the King and his allies, against rival nobles) the Battle of Stiklestad (in sagas, Stiklarstaðir) occurs. According to sagas, King Olaf II Haraldsson crossed with his army, the country of Sweden, and arrived at Stiklestad (80 km/50 miles N of Trondheim) in Norway. At Stiklestad, Olaf met an army led by Hårek from Tjøtta consisted of more than 7,000 men. According to the Icelandic historian, Snorri Sturluson, the battle cry of Olaf's men was Fram! Fram! Kristmenn, Krossmenn, Kongsmenn (=Forward, forward, Christ's men, Cross men, King's men), while that of the opposing army was Fram! Fram! Bonder (=Forward, forward, farmers). In the battle, Olaf was killed. He is the Perpetuus Rex Normanni, the Eternal King of Norwegians.
Olaf is venerated as a saint - Olav den Hellige - and he is the patron saint of Norway
1693: During the Nine Years' War (fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch Stadtholder-King William III, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, King Charles II of Spain, Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, and the major and minor princes of the Holy Roman Empire) the Battle of Neerwinden occurs. An 80,000-strong French army under Marshal, François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Piney, called de Luxembourg, assaulted the 50,000-strong allied army (English-Scottish-Dutch) under King William III of England.
Although it was a French victory, the battle was quite costly for both sides, the French losing 9,000 men to the Allies' 19,000, and the French failed to follow up on their victory, allowing William to escape.
1967: Off the coast of North Vietnam, the USS "Forrestal" (CV-59) catches on a devastating fire, caused by an unusual electrical anomaly, that killed 134 sailors and injured 161. It was the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II.
07-30-2010, 04:31 AM
1945: Japanese submarine I-58 sinks the USS "Indianapolis" (CA-35). The ship had delivered critical parts for the first atomic bomb at a US air base at Tinian on July 26th and was cruising the Philippine Sea when she was attacked by the submarine. Of 1,196 crew aboard, approximately 300 went down with the ship. The remaining crew of 880 faced exposure, dehydration and shark attacks as they waited for assistance while floating with few lifeboats and almost no food or water. The Navy learned of the sinking when survivors were spotted four days later by the crew of a PV-1 Ventura on routine patrol. Only 317 sailors survived.
The USS Indianapolis memorial in Indianapolis, IN
2006: During the Lebanon War, the Qana airstrike occurs. It was an attack by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) on a three-storey building near the South Lebanese village of Qana. 28 civilians were killed, of which 16 were children. According to the Israel Defense Forces, the bombing was an attempt to stop Katyusha rockets being fired by Hezbollah into northern Israel from the village over a two-week period. Israel halted air strikes for 48 hours following the attack, amid condemnations by the UN General Secretary Kofi Annan, several countries and non-governmental organizations.
07-31-2010, 05:22 AM
30 BC: During the last War of the Roman Republic (fought between the forces of Cleopatra and Mark Antony against Octavian's. With Octavian's victory, the Roman Republic becomes Imperium (=Empire), annexes Egypt and is united under Octavian's rule. Octavian becomes Augustus), the Battle of Alexandria occurs. A 12,000-strong Roman and Egyptian army under Mark Antony managed to resist Octavian's assault (30,000 men) and narrowly win the battle.
904: Leo Tripolites, a Muslim convert and renegade, leads an Arab fleet of 54 ships and sacks Thessalonica, the second most important city in the Byzantine Empire. According to the Orthodox cleric and Thessalonian Ioannes Cameniates, a witness of the event, Leo made himself master of Thessalonica and took the general in charge of the imperial garrison, Niketas and the imperial governor, Chatzilacius, prisoners. 22,000 (other sources claim 30,000) Thessalonians died, or captured alive and sold as slaves. 1,200 Thessalonians (amongst them Cameniates, Niketas and Chatzilacius) were bought by the Byzantines back and they were eventually freed, in Tarsus, Cilicia.
1423: During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Cravant occurs. A 4,000-strong combined Anglo-Burgundian army under Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury, defeated a combined Franco-Scottish force numbering some 8,000 men, led by Charles VII, the Dauphin of France and John Stewart, Earl of Buchan. The success at Cravant began the peak of English arms in the Hundred Years' War.
1944: The British VIII Corps begins Operation Bluecoat, an assault towards the river Vire. XXX Corps (7th Armoured, 43rd and 50th Divisions) objectives were Villers-Bocage, Aunay-sur-Odon and finally Mont Pincon. The British pushed the front line back by 13 km (8 miles). The U.S. 4th Armoured Division captures Avranches, having advanced 56 km (35 miles) and taken 20,000 prisoners since the 25th July.
1972: Operation Motorman, a large operation is carried out by the British Army in Northern Ireland in order to retake the "no-go areas" (areas controlled by Irish republican paramilitaries) that had been established in Belfast and Derry. Thousands of British troops, supported by tanks and armoured cars, swept into the area and began dismantling the barricades with bulldozers. The IRA offered no resistance in the face of this overwhelming force, having been warned by the build up of military equipment and personnel that a major operation was being planned.
Two people, 15 year old Daniel Hegarty and IRA Volunteer Seamus Bradley were shot dead by British troops during the operation.
2007: Operation Banner, the British Army's emergency operation in Northern Ireland after 38 years, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
08-01-2010, 05:32 AM
1664: During the Ottoman Wars in Europe, the Battle of Saint Gotthard occurs. It's fought between a 30-40,000-strong Habsburg army led by Raimondo, Count of Montecúccoli, Jean de Coligny-Saligny, Margrave Leopold Wilhelm of Baden-Baden, the Dutch Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck and Wolfgang Julius von Hohenlohe-Neuenstein and an Ottoman army of some 60-90,000 men under Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha. The Ottomans were defeated, losing ca 22,000 men, but were able to negotiate the Peace of Vasvár, which was highly favorable to them.
1798: During the French Revolutionary Wars, the two-day Naval Battle of Aboukir Bay begins. A French fleet of 13 ships of the line, under Vice-Admiral François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, Comte de Brueys, is defeated by a British fleet of some 13 ships, under Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté. French lost two ships, suffered 6,000 sailors killed or wounded and 3,300 captured. French Admiral Brueys was also killed. British casualties accounted for 218 killed, 677 wounded. Nelson suffered a head wound 8 cm/3" long with the cranium exposed for 2.5 cm/1". He suffered pain from the injury for the rest of his life and was badly scarred.
1894: The First Sino-Japanese War begins, fought from 1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895 between the Qing Dynasty China and Meiji Japan, primarily over control of Korea. The war ends in a Japanese victory and a significant loss of prestige for the Qing Dynasty. Korea becomes independent from China. China loses the influence of the Korean Peninsula to the Empire of Japan. Qing Dynasty China cedes Taiwan, Penghu, and the Liaodong Peninsula to the Empire of Japan.
1927: The Nanchang Uprising, the first major Kuomintang-Communist engagement of the Chinese Civil War occurs. August 1st is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army.
1944: The Warsaw Uprising, a struggle by the 38,000-strong Polish resistance to liberate Warsaw from Nazi German occupation during World War II, begins. They receive no support from Soviet forces who are already on the eastern bank of the Vistula opposite the city. The uprising will end on 2nd October with the city almost totally destroyed. General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski signed the capitulation of the remaining Polish forces (Warszawski Korpus Armii Krajowej or Home Army Warsaw Corps) in the German headquarters in the presence of general von dem Bach, on 3 October. According to the capitulation treaty, the Home Army soldiers were to be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention and the civilian population was to be treated humanely. The next day the Germans began to disarm the Home Army soldiers. Most of them were later sent to POW camps in various parts of Germany. At the same time the civilian population (approximately 700,000) was resettled to concentration camps west of Warsaw.
General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, CO of the Polish Home Army
08-02-2010, 05:17 AM
338 BC: Battle of Chæronea: The liberty of the old Greek city-states was blasted at Chæronea, Bœotia by the victory of Philip II of Macedon. Over one thousand Athenians fell, and 2,000 were made prisoners. A great number of Bœotians perished also, and many more were captured by the Macedonians. This battle implied the passing of the Greek system of city-states and the formation of Kœnon (=meaning common, commonwealth and interpreted as military monarchy), the large associations of cities. Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean islands is secured.
In the battle, the Theban elite unit (Sacred Band) was surrounded by Alexander's 2,200 cavalry. From the 300 Thebans of the Sacred Band, 254 were killed. The Lion of Chæronea was built by the Thebans to honour their Sacred Band's dead. A few years back, archaeological excavations brought to the light the remains of 254 men, burried in seven layers
216 BC: During the Second Punic War (the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic lasted from 218-201 BC), the Battle of Cannæ occurs. The 56,000-strong army of Carthage under Hannibal, decisively defeated a numerically superior army of the Roman Republic (86,000) commanded by the consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro. It is regarded as one of the greatest tactical feats in military history to this day and, in terms of the numbers killed (according to Livy: 45,500 Romans and allied infantry, 2,700 Roman and allied cavalry), the second greatest defeat of Rome (second only to the Battle of Arausio, in 105 BC where Rome lost to the Cimri and the Teutoni 80,000 troops, as well as another 40,000 auxiliary troops).
Hannibal Barca is one of the greatest military masterminds in history. His most famous campaign took place during the Second Punic War when he caught the Romans off guard by crossing the Alps
1943: Rebellion in the Nazi death camp of Treblinka II, Poland. The prisoners in the work details rebelled. They seized small arms, sprayed kerosene on all the buildings and set them ablaze. In the confusion, a number of guards were killed but many more prisoners perished. Of 1,500 prisoners, about 600 managed to escape the camp, but only 40 are known to have survived until the end of the war.
1943: The Japanese destroyer "Amagiri" (DD-45) sinks Motor Torpedo Boat USS PT-109 in the Solomon islands, which is commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy.
1944: As part of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front, the First Polish Army (Pierwsza Armia Wojska Polskiego) gains a Vistula bridgehead, 40 miles to the south of Warsaw.
1964: The Gulf of Tonkin Incident occurs: North Vietnamese gunboats allegedly fire against the U.S. destroyers, USS "Maddox" (DD-731) and the USS "Turner Joy" (DD-951).
1990: Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to conflict with coalition forces in Operation Desert Storm.
08-04-2010, 05:21 AM
1265: During the Second Barons' War (a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort, against the Royalist forces led by Prince Edward) the Battle of Evesham occurs. It's fought between a 5,000-strong Baronial army under Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Sir Peter de Montfort, and a Royal army of some 10,000 men under Prince Edward (the future King Edward I of England), nom de guerre Longshanks and Gilbert de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford and 7th Earl of Gloucester, nom de guerre Red. In the battle, Monfort's army was surrounded and both Monforts died fighting. Simon de Montfort's dead body was mutilated; his head, hands, feet and ********s cut off.
Simon de Monfort's death and mutilation
1578: During the Moroccan-Portuguese War of 1415-1580, the Battle of Alcazar occurs. A 23,000-strong Portuguese army led by the King of Portugal Sebastião I, with hundreds of volunteers from Castile and Italy, mercenaries from Flanders and Germany and 3-4,000 Moorish allies of the legitimate Sultan of Morocco, Abu Abdallah Mohammed II, was defeated at Ksar El Kebir, between Tangier and Fez, by a Muslim army of 25,000 Moroccans under Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I (uncle of the Sultan and contestant to the throne) and the 15,000 Ottoman Janissaries of the Ottoman Governor of Algiers, Ramazan Pasha. Both Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik I and Abu Abdallah Mohammed II died in the battle. Sebastião was also killed. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal because the 24-year old king was unmarried and had sired no heir.
Dom Sebastião of Portugal
1704: During the War of the Spanish Succession, Gibraltar is captured by a joint Anglo-Dutch force under Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke.
WWI-1914: Germany declares war on neutral Belgium and invades in a right flanking move designed to defeat France quickly. This violates a treaty signed by Prussia respecting the neutrality of Belgium, whose territories were bound to maintain inviolate. As a result of this invasion, Britain and its Empire declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Australia, Canada and New Zealand follow suit and join the war. U.S President Woodrow Wilson declares policy of American neutrality.
1940: The Italians begin their invasion of British Somaliland. Using some 25,000 troops, they push the small British garrison back towards the port of Berbera.
1995: Operation Storm, a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, to gain control of parts of Croatia which had been claimed by separatist ethnic Serbs, begins. Three Croatian generals, Ante Gotovina, Ivan Cermak and Mladen Markac, alleged to have been involved in the planning and execution of Operation Storm, were indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and are on trial in the Hague on charges of operating a joint criminal enterprise for the purpose of permanently removing the Serb population from the Krajina by force and of crimes against humanity.
08-06-2010, 05:12 AM
1284: During the Genoese-Pisan War, the Naval Battle of Meloria occurs. A Genoese fleet of 98 war galleys led by the genoese admiral Oberto D'Oria, defeated a 74-strong Pisan fleet under Podestà (=Chief Magistrate) Alberto Morosini. The Pisan fleet was nearly annihilated, ca 10,000 sailors either perished or captured and Podestà Morosini was captured alive.
The flag with the Cross of San Zorzo (=St George) of the Repúbrica de Zêna (=Republic of Genoa)
1824: During the Greek War for Independence, the Naval Battle of Mycale, in the Mycale straits, between the island of Samos and the W coast of Turkey, occurs. A 100-strong Turkish fleet under Hosref Pasha, was defeated by a Greek fleet of 40 warships under Admiral Georgios Sakhtures. A Turkish Frigate and a Tunesian Brig were sunk with all hands on board. Greeks suffered two killed (the Hydreans Ioannes Mavroiannes and Georgios Tsambrales). The losses of the Ottomans were 700 killed, drowned or captured.
The personal banner of the Hydrean Admiral Georgios Sakhtures. The inscription reads Liberty or Death
1870: During the Franco-Prussian War, the Battle of Wörth occurs. Troops from Prussia, Baden, Bavaria and Württemberg (75,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry with 300 arty pieces) commanded by Crown Prince Friedrich and directed by his Chief of Staff, General Leonhard Graf von Blumenthal, defeated the French (32,000 infantry, 4,850 cavalry with 100 arty pieces) under Marshal Marie Edme Patrice Maurice de Mac-Mahon, 1st Duke of Magenta. The losses of the Germans were 9,270 killed and wounded and 1,370 missing. French losses accounted for 8,000 killed and wounded, 12,000 missing and captured. Thirteen French regiments in all lost over 50% of their strength.
WWI-1914: Serbia declares war on Germany. Austria declares war on Russia.
WWI-1915: As part of the Battle of Gallipoli, the Allies mount a diversionary attack, the Battle of Sari Bair. The main operation started on 6 August with the landing of five fresh divisions (10th Irish, 11th, 13th, 53rd Welsh, 54th East Anglian) under General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton.
WWI-1917: As part of the Romanian campaign, the Battle of Mărăşeşti occurs. The German Field Marshal Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen, launched an all-out attack against the 220,000 Romanians at Mărăşeşti. The fighting lasted until 8 September, when both sides ran out of fresh units. Romania lost ca 27,000 men, including 610 officers, while Germany lost over 47,000.
The Mausoleum of Mărăşeşti. It contains the remains of 5,073 Romanian soldiers and officers killed in the First World War
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia Campaign, the Greek A' and C' Army Corps, cross Sakarya river and begin their march through the salty desert - the 1,600 sq km/618 sq mile Lake Tuz (=Salt Lake) dries up during summer and exposes an average of 30 cm/12" thick salt layer - for Ankara. The troops suffer from the blazing heat and the lack of water.
Greek troops crossing the salty desert
1944: The U.S. XX Corps enters Laval and continues south-east. The U.S. 4th Armoured Division advances to Vannes and Lorient, while the U.S. 6th Armoured Division, on their right flank, is headed for the westernmost point of the Brittany Peninsula and the ports of Brest. North of them, 8th U.S. Infantry Division is passing along the northern coastline of the peninsula.
Supplies for Brest. Trucks leaving LST near Morlaix for Brest
1945: U.S. B-29 Enola Gay drops a 3-metre/10-foot long atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima, Japan, killing an estimated 140,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare and wiping out 10 sq km/3.8 sq miles.
1964: Following the Cypriot government's allegations that the Kokkina-Mansoura area in Tellyria on the NW Cypriot coast was the landing spot for arms and other supplies from Turkey and that it was a center for carrying out a plan to spread and intensify the Turkish-Cypriot rebellion in Cyprus (sic), President Makarios orders the National Guard to begin operations against the Turkish-Cypriots of Tellyria.
The Commandos of the 31st Commando Battalion of the Cypriot National Guard with a captured Turkish flag during the operations in Tellyria
08-07-2010, 07:01 AM
322 BC: During the Lamian War (fought between Athens and its allies against the Macedonians), the Battle of Crannon occurs. The Athenian and allied forces were finally defeated by General Antipater's 40,000 infantry, 3,000 slingers and archers, 5,000 cavalry. Although the allied forces were not routed, and suffered just 500 dead, the outcome was decisive enough to compel the Athenians and her allies to sue for peace on Antipater’s terms. The Athenians were made to dissolve their government and establish a plutocratic system in its stead, whereby only those possessing 2,000 drachmas or more could remain citizens. This was done in the belief that the poorer elements of the society had compelled the war in the first place. Demosthenes was forced to commit suicide by Antipater for his role in supporting the war against the Macedonians and his Philippic orations (Demosthenes' declamations full of bitter and accusatory invective against Philip II of Macedon).
Death of Demosthenes
1714: During the Great Northern War, the Naval Battle of Gangut occurs between the 99-strong Imperial Russian fleet commanded by Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin and the Swedish small naval detachment consisting of 11 ships led by Schoutbynacht (equivalent of a Rear Admiral) Nils Ehrenskiöld sent to intercept the Russians. Gangut was the first important victory of the Russian fleet in its history. The victory is even nowadays celebrated by the Russian Navy, which has a long tradition of always having one vessel named Gangut.
The victor, Count Apraksin
1819: During the Venezuelan War of Independence, the Battle of Boyacá occurs. It's fought between the 3,400-strong Revolutionary army (including the British volunteers of the British Legion) under Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios, commonly known as Simón Bolívar and the 3,000-strong army of Spanish Royalists under Spanish Colonels José María Barreiro and Francisco Jiménez. The battle lasted for just two hours and it was a triumph for the revolutionists. Bolívar credited the victory to the British Legion declaring that those soldier liberators are the men who deserve these laurels.
1933: The first of many massacres committed by the Iraqi government during the systematic targeting of Assyrians of Northern Iraq, takes place. Over 3,000 Assyrians are slaughtered in the village of Simele. The day becomes known as Assyrian Martyrs Day.
1941: Stalin appoints himself Generalissimo of the Red Army.
1942: The Battle of Guadalcanal begins – United States Marines initiate the first American offensive of the war with landings on Guadalcanal and Tulagi in the Solomon Islands.
1944: The German 2. - 116. - 1. SS and 2. SS Panzer divisions, with 145 tanks to the East of Mortain launch Operation Lüttich, to counter-attack against the U.S. 3rd Army’s sweep to the South. The Germans move against Avranches and achieve some success at Mortain. Assisted by RAF Typhoons, the Americans are able to stop the Germans by the afternoon. U.S. XV Corps is turned north to meet the Canadians in Falaise.
German Armoured Column destroyed at Mortain, during Operation Lüttich
1952: A coy from the Greek Expeditionary Force in Korea, attacks and takes Hill 167 near the Imjin River during the Korean War.
1998: The United States embassy bombings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya kill approximately 212 people.
08-09-2010, 05:25 AM
48 BC: During Cæsar's Civil War (one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire, between Gaius Julius Cæsar and the Senate), the Battle of Pharsalus occurs. It's fought at Pharsalus (today's Pharsala in Thessaly, Greece) between Gaius Julius Cæsar and his allies (ca 22,000 legionaries, 5,000-10,000 Auxiliaries and Allies, and Allied Cavalry of 1800), and the army of the republic (ca 40,000-60,000 legionaries, 4,200 Auxiliaries and Allies, and Allied Cavalry of 5,000-8,000) under the command of Gnaeus Pompey the Great. Its oucome was a decisive Cæsarian victory. Cæsar’s victory took him to the pinnacle of power, effectively ending the Republic.
Gaius Julius Cæsar
378: During the Gothic War (a series of battles fought between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Goths from 376/377 – 382), the Battle of Hadrianople (today's Edirne, European Turkey) occurs. A 20–30,000-strong Roman army led by the Roman Emperor Valens is defeated by the 40-60,000 Goths under Fritigern. The Roman army was routed and the Emperor himself was abandoned by his guards. His fate is unknown; he probably died anonymously on the field.
The meeting between Fritigern of the Gothic Tervingi, the victor of Hadrianople and Emperor Valens on the Danube
1944: Greek Submarine RHNS "Pipinos" (Y-8), under Lt. Cdr. Constantine Lutras, sinks in Samos island harbour the Italian destroyer under German colours, Calafatini - she was captured by the Germans at Piræus on 9 September, 1943 and since then served in Kriegsmarine as Torpedoboot Ausland (= foreign torpedo boat) - and the small freighter Orion a former Greek lighthouse tender, captured by the Germans.
Rear Admiral Gregorios Mazevires, Vice Chief of Royal Hellenic Navy, at the ship's christening in 1943 - Liverpool, UK
1945: U.S. B-29 Bocks Car drops atomic bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki, Japan. Two-thirds of the city of 250,000 inhabitants is destroyed and 113,000 people die.
1945: The Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation begins. Soviet Army massed at the Manchurian border sweeps into northern China and northern Korea overwhelming the Japanese defences.
08-11-2010, 05:06 AM
1898: During the Spanish-American War, U.S. troops (from the 5th Cavalry, 11th Infantry and 19th Infantry, under Brigadier General Theodore Schwan) entered Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Spanish troops encircled the city yet a battle never occurred, and the invading troops were well-received.
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia Campaign, the Greek A', B' and C' Corps commence offensive operations on the entire front, against the Turks occupying positions eastwards across the Sakarya River and northwards against the Turkish lines on the Ilica, a shallow tributary of the Sakarya.
1944: U.S. troops capture Nantes and Angers and drive South across the Loire.
1975: Governor Mário Lemos Pires of Portuguese Timor abandons the capital Dili, following a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) and the outbreak of civil war between UDT and Fretilin.
The last Portuguese governor of Portuguese Timor, Lemos Pires
08-12-2010, 05:23 AM
1099: During the First Crusade, the Battle of Ascalon (today's Ashkelon, Israel) occurs. A 10,000-strong Crusader army under Godfrey of Bouillon, accompanied by Robert II, Count of Flanders, defeated a Fatimid army of ca 30,000 men under al-Malik al-Afdal ibn Badr al-Jamali Shahanshah, the vizier of the Fatimid caliphs of Egypt. Although the battle of Ascalon was a crusader victory the city itself remained under Faitimid control. The Battle of Ascalon is often considered the last action of the First Crusade.
The sword of Godfrey of Bouillon, displayed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
1121: As part of the Georgian-Seljuq Wars, the Battle of Didgori occurs. The strength of the Seljuq Turkish army is variously put, by the medieval Islamic, Georgian, Armenian and European sources from 200,000 to 605,000, led by Najm ad-Din Ilghazi ibn Artuq. The Georgian army has traditionally been estimated at 40,000 Georgians, 15,000 Kipchaks, 500 Alans and 100 Frankish Crusaders under King David IV of Georgia. In a pitched three-hour action, the Seljuq troops were completely overrun and routed, leaving a huge amount of booty and prisoners to the victors.
King David IV of Georgia is venerated as a saint by the Georgian Orthodox Church
1164: As part of the Crusades, the Battle of Harenc occurs. An allied army from the County of Tripoli (under Raymond III of Tripoli), the Principality of Antioch (under the Prince of Antioch, Bohemond III), the Byzantine Empire (under the governor of Cilicia, Constantine Calamanos) and Armenia (under Toros II the Great, Prince of Armenia and Mleh I, his younger brother) is defeated by the Muslim forces of the Seljuq Atabeg (=Governor) of Syria, Nur ad-Din Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Imad ad-Din Zangi. According to the historian Ali 'Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir al-Jazari, 10,000 crusaders were killed.
1281: The fleet of Qubilai Khan, composed of more than four thousand ships bearing nearly 140,000 men, is destroyed by a major typhoon while approaching Japan. The Japanese believed that the god Raijin (=god of thunder and lightning in Japanese mythology) was the god who turned the storms against the Mongols and named these winds Kamikaze (=divine wind; kami is the word for god, spirit, or divinity, and kaze for wind).
1332: During the Second War of the Scottish Independence, the Battle of Dupplin Moor occurs. An army of 10 - 15,000 men of Bruce loyalists under Domhnall II, Earl of Mar and Sir Robert Keith, is defeated by the 1,500 - 3,000 English and Balliol (=followers of Edward Balliol claimant to the Scottish throne) rebels. A few weeks after the battle, Edward Balliol was crowned king at Scone, backed by Edward III of England.
Edward Balliol as Toom Tabard (=empty jacket)
1499: As part of the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499-1503, the Naval Battle of Zonchio begins. It took place on four separate days: August 12, 20, 22 and 25. An Ottoman fleet consisted of 67 galleys, 20 galliots and 200 smaller vessels under Kemal Reis, defeated the Venetian fleet of 47 galleys, 17 galliots and circa 100 smaller vessels under the command of Antonio Grimani.
1687: During the Great Turkish War (a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and contemporary European powers during the second half of the 17th century), the Second Battle of Mohács oocurs. The forces of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, commanded by Charles Léopold Nicolas Sixte, the Duke of Lorraine, defeated the forces of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, commanded by the Grand-Vizier Sari Süleyman Paşa. The losses of the Habsburg Imperial army were very light, about 600 men. The Ottoman army suffered huge losses with an estimated 10,000 deaths, as well as the loss of most of its artillery (about 66 guns) and much of its support equipment. The disintegration of the Ottoman army allowed Imperial Habsburg armies to conquer Slavonia in Eastern Croatia and Transylvania in Romania.
Charles V, duc de Lorraine
1806: Jacques Antoine Marie de Liniers et Bremond, a French officer in the Spanish military service, and a viceroy of the Spanish colonies of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, retakes the city of Buenos Aires from the British.
William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Count of Trancoso, 1st Marquess of Campo Maior, surrenders to Santiago de Liniers during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata
1944: Waffen SS troops massacre 560 people in Sant'Anna di Stazzema, Tuscany, Italy. The 2nd Battallion of SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment 35 of 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division Reichsführer-SS, commanded by SS-Hauptsturmführer Anton Galler, killed in groups with machine guns in open air and with hand grenades in basements, hundreds of rounded-up civilians. The youngest victim was the 20-day old, Anna Pardini.
The Memorial to the Massacre
1944: Alençon was the first French city to be liberated by the Free French, under General Leclerc, after minor bomb damage.
The statue of General Leclerc in Alençon
1953: The Soviets detonate their first thermonuclear weapon, with a force equivalent to 400 kilotons of TNT.
1976: During the Lebanese Civil War, the Massacre of Tel al-Zaatar occurs. Syrian and Christian Phalangist forces massacre 1,000 - 3,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, of the Tel al-Zaatar Palestinian Refugee camp.
2000: The Oscar class submarine K-141 "Kursk" of the Russian Navy explodes and sinks in the Barents Sea during a military exercise with 118 hands.
08-13-2010, 06:08 AM
1521: Tenochtitlán (present day Mexico City), the seat of the Aztec empire falls to conquistador Hernán Cortés. 240,000 Aztecs are estimated to have died during the siege, which lasted eighty days.
1704: During the War of the Spanish Succession, the Battle of Blenheim occurs. A 52,000-strong allied army under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, defeated the 56,000-strong Franco-Bavarian army led by Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, the duc de Tallard, Ferdinand, comte de Marsin and Maximilian II Emanuel, the Kurfürst (=Prince-Elector) of Bavaria. A combination of deception and brilliant administration from the allied part, culminated in a crushing defeat for the Franco-Bavarian forces: Over 30,000 killed, wounded and missing.
Part of the Battle of Blenheim tapestry at Blenheim Palace by Judocus de Vos. In the background is the village of Blenheim. The foreground shows an English grenadier with a captured French colour
1920: During the Polish-Soviet War, the Battle of Warsaw begins (it lasted until 25 August). Red Army forces commanded by Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky suffered defeat from the counterattacking Polish forces led by Józef Klemens Piłsudski. Estimated Soviet losses were 10,000 killed, 500 missing, 30,000 wounded, and 66,000 taken prisoner, compared with Polish losses of some 4,500 killed, 10,000 missing, and 22,000 wounded.
1937: During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Battle of Shanghai begins. It lasted until 26 November and it was an engagement of ca one million troops, on both sides. The battle ended in a Japanese tactical victory.
1944: 7,000 German troops, supported by the Luftwaffe and artillery, burst through the Cretan defences and take the mountainous town and a stronghold of the Cretan resistance, Anoghia. The town had been earlier evacuated by the civilian population and left completely razed by the Germans. Only the church buildings were spared. German and Cretan losses were severe.
Anoghian andartes (=guerillas)
The Monument to the battle
1961: The construction of the Berlin Wall, a barrier constructed by the East Germans that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding Communist East Germany and East Berlin, begins. At midnight, 12-13 August, East German troops and workers began to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them impassable to most vehicles, and to install barbed wire entanglements and fences along the 156 km (97 miles) around the three western sectors, and the 43 km (27 miles) that divided West and East Berlin.
Hans Conrad Schumann is defecting to the West - 15 August, 1961
08-14-2010, 05:13 AM
1385: During the Portuguese Interregnum (a period of civil war in Portuguese history that began with the death of King Ferdinand I of Portugal in 1383, who left no male heirs, and ended with the accession to the throne of King John I in 1385) the Battle of Aljubarrota occurs. About 6,500 men commanded by King John I of Portugal and his general Nuno Álvares Pereira, with the support of English allies, defeated a 31,000-strong Castilian army under John I of Castile. The result was a decisive victory for the Portuguese, ruling out Castilian ambitions to the Portuguese throne, ending the 1383-1385 Crisis and assuring John as King of Portugal. The House of Aviz was established.
Dom João I of Portugal
1598: During the Nine Years' War (fought between the forces of Gaelic Irish chieftains Hugh Ó Neill of Tír Eoghain, Hugh Roe Ó Donnell of Tír Chonaill and their allies, against the Elizabethan English), the Battle of the Yellow Ford occurs. It was fought between the Gaelic native Irish army under Aodh Mór Ó Néill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone and Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill, ruler of Tyrconnell and a crown expeditionary force from Dublin under Henry Bagenal. It was an Irish victory as crown forces lost about 900 killed at the battle.
Aodh Mór Ó Néill - anglisised, Hugh the Great O'Neill
1921: During the Greek Minor Asia Campaign and following some very hard fighting, the Greek A' Corps secures the area of Tobur Oğlu, the Greek B' Corps (with its V Division as the spearhead) occupies the area of Kale Grotto and the C' Corps advances towards lake Sapanca.
1944: The First Canadian Army and the Polish 1st Armoured Division (1 Dywizja Pancerna) launch Operation Tractable against the Wehrmacht's Army Group B, towards Falaise.
1945: The Japanese Cabinet decide at a morning meeting in Imperial Palace to surrender to allies. An 8:10 pm reply to the allied ultimatum is handed to the Swiss Foreign Minister by the Japanese Minister in Berne. Truman calls a Press Conference at midnight to announce the Unconditional Surrender of Japan. USAAF B29s launch the last air raid of the war against Kumagaya.
Truman and Cabinet after Japanese Surrender
1974: Following the collapse of the tripartite (Cyprus, Greece, Turkey) negotiations during the Geneva conference in Switzerland, Turkish government gives the green light for Operation Attila II, the second stage of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. Turkish forces, have been massively reinforced to the strength of two infantry divisions and supporting elements with additional 40 M48 Tanks. At 06:30 hours, ELDYK (=Hellenic Forces of Cyprus) camp was hit by Turkish artillery and airforce. ELDYK forces were supported by Cypriot National Guard artillery fire, provided by the NG 187th artillery battalion equipped with soviet 100mm guns. At 10:00 hours, the camp was attacked by infantry, and at 11:00 hours by tanks, but both attacks were repelled. At 15:00 a new attack was repelled. ELDYK lost 1 killed and 7 wounded. Turkish casualties were comparatively heavy.
Greek ELDYK troops watch for possible Turkish movement. The tank on the background is a destroyed Turkish one - August 1974
08-15-2010, 05:54 AM
1309: Rhodes surrenders to the Knights of the Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The Knights establish their headquarters on the island and rename themselves the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and of Rhodes.
The Knight's Castle at Rhodes
1461: The Empire of Trebizond, surrenders to the forces of Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. This is regarded by some historians as the real end of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor David Megas (=Grand) Comnenus (or commonly, Megalocomnenus) is exiled and later murdered.
1599: During the Nine Years' War, the Battle of Curlew Pass occurs. It's fought between an English force under Sir Conyers Clifford and an Irish force led by Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill (anglicised - Red Hugh O'Donnell). The English were ambushed and routed while marching through a pass in the Curlew Mountains, near the town of Boyle, in northwestern Ireland. The English forces suffered heavy casualties (ca 500 killed). Losses by Irish forces were not recorded but were probably minimal.
Gaelic Chieftain overlooking Curlew Pass
1760: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Liegnitz occurs. A 30,000-strong Prussian army commanded by King Frederick II the Great of Prussia, defeated an Austrian army of some 25,000 men under Baron Ernst Gideon von Laudon.
The victor, Frederick the Great
1863: The two-day Anglo-Satsuma War (Royal Navy was fired on from the town of Kagoshima while the British were trying to exact a payment from the feudal domain of Satsuma) begins with the British bombardment of Kagoshima. The naval bombardment claimed just five lives among the people of Satsuma and 13 lives among the British. The short conflict became the starting point of a close relationship between Satsuma and Britain, which became major allies.
One of the Cannons used for the defence of Satsuma. A young Heihachiro Togo, the later Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy, was manning one of the cannons
WWI-1914: The Battle of the Frontiers - a series of battles fought along the eastern frontier of France and in southern Belgium shortly after the outbreak of World War I - begins.
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
1920: During the Russo-Polish War, the two-day Battle of Ossów ends. It was part of the Battle of Warsaw and was fought between the Polish 18th Infantry Division, reinforced with the newly-created 221st and 236th Infantry Rgt of the Volunteer Army, and the 79th Rifle Brigade and 2nd Rifle Division of the Red Army. The battle was one of the first skirmishes won by the Poles.
The Memorial to the 22 dead of the Red Army whose remains were found in 2008 - Battle of Ossów
1940: The Italian submarine Delfino (Lieutenant Giuseppe Aicardi) torpedoes and sinks the Greek light cruiser Elli in the island of Tenos' harbour during peacetime, killing 9 sailors and wounding 29. One woman died of heart attack. The torpedoing of Elli marks the most serious Italian provocation prior to the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War in October.
Explosion after the first torpedo's impact against the quay of Tenos' harbour on 15 August, 1940. Greek light cruiser Elli can be seen in the right; seconds later she'll be hit by the second torpedo
1942: The last of 6 remaining merchant of the Pedestal convoy, the tanker SS "Ohio", with 10,000 tons oil on board is towed into Malta by three British warships.
The Tanker "Ohio" arriving at Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta on August 15th, 1942
1944: The allies launch Operation Dragoon, a combined assault on the South coast of France from Toulon to Nice. 9,000 airborne troops are landed, along with 90,000 by sea. Six towns and 2,000 prisoners are taken. About 200,000 Germans (23 divisions) are in the 40-mile/64-kilometre long, 11-mile/18-kilometre wide (at narrowest point) Argentan-Falaise gap, but start to pull out as Anglo-Canadian troops resume the attack to the North.
1945: Japan Surrenders. The Japanese Government resigns and Korechika Anami, the War Minister commits suicide. MacArthur becomes the Supreme Commander for Allied Powers in the Pacific.
1947: Pakistan and India gain Independence from the British Raj and join the British Commonwealth.
1984: The PKK in Turkey begins armed attacks.
08-15-2010, 12:32 PM
Amazing photo of the torpedo strike on the Greek ship. What are the odds of being able to snap such a photo, especially when the event wasn't expected?
Interesting about Rhodes. Beautiful place. You can walk around inside the moat (it's a nice trail going around the fortifications now), and it's full of huge stone cannonballs that had once been fired at the city walls.
08-15-2010, 12:46 PM
Amazing photo of the torpedo strike on the Greek ship. What are the odds of being able to snap such a photo, especially when the event wasn't expected?
The island of Tenos is the centre for religious celebrations every year on August 15 for the Orthodox Christians in Greece:
Dormition of the Holy Virgin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormition_of_the_Theotokos)
therefore it's not rare to have photographers ready to take snapshots from the celebrations. Since the photo is an official one from the Hellenic Navy archives (the inscription reads "Navy History Service - 42403") I'd say it's genuine.
PS: Beautiful photos indeed
08-15-2010, 02:01 PM
Hi All! I'd need some help! In Hungary-Europe, a small group made a German Shepherd Rescue Team and started to build an animal home. Now we decided to write a book about Military Dogs-Heroes, true stories from nowadays. I know that lot of german shepherds take parts in military exercises. I'm looking for soldiers who works with dogs, and can help us with some stories. I hope with this book we can finish our animal home. Please tell me some advices where to start, or who should I ask?
08-17-2010, 05:48 AM
480 BC: During the Second Persian invasion of Greece, the three-day Battle of Thermopylæ begins. 300 Spartans led by their King Leonidas, 700 Thespians under their leader Demophilus and 400 Thebans, attempt to defend the middle gate from the invading Persians, the narrowest part of the pass of Thermopylæ, where the Phocians had built a defensive wall some time before. After a desperate fight, the Persians finally break through on the third day, at the expense of 20,000 casualties according to Herodotus. On the Greek side, the Thespians committed themselves to a fight to the death, the Spartans perished after the Persians rained down arrows until every last Spartan was dead and the Thebans, according to Herodotus, defended themselves to the last, those who still had swords using them, and the others resisting with their hands and teeth.
480 BC: During the Second Persian invasion of Greece, the three-day Naval Battle of Artemisium (or Artemision) begins. 271 Greek warships (triremes mostly) from Athens, Corinth, Sparta and other minor Greek city-states, led by the Spartan Navarch (=Admiral) Eurybiades engaged a ca 800-strong Persian fleet, off the northern tip of the island of Eubœa. The battle was fought coinstantaneously with the Battle of Thermopylæ and it was a tactical stalemate: The Greeks did not defeat the Persian navy, neither did the Persians destroy the Greek fleet. However, as the poet Pindar put it, Artemisium was where the sons of the Athenians laid the shining foundation-stone of freedom.
The HNS "Olympias" is a reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme. 127 similar Athenian ships, fought at Artemisium
986: A Byzantine army of 30,000 men under the young and inexperienced Emperor Basil II, is destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate, near Ihtiman, Bulgaria, by the Bulgarians of Tsar Samuil and his brother Aron. The Byzantine emperor Basil II narrowly escaped. Bardas Skleros (or Sclerus) the Byzantine general and contestant to the throne, who led a wide-scale rebellion in Minor Asia, from 976-979, takes advantage of the defeat and organises a new rebellion.
The Trajan's Gate, today
The commemorative plaque marking the 1020th (2006) anniversary of the Bulgarian victory
WWI-1914: Russia invades East Prussia and the Battle of Stallupönen occurs. The Russian General Paul von Rennenkampf's forces marched into East Prussia, following cavalry probes conducted five days earlier, the same day that the German General Hermann von François, commander of I Corps - attached to General von Prittwitz's Eighth Army - brought them to action. Launching a frontal attack, the aggressive François drove the Russians back to the frontier, snapping up 3,000 prisoners in the process. German casualties accounted for 1,297 killed and wounded. The Russians lost 5,000 men.
The conqueror of Stallupönen, General Hermann von François
1942: Butaritari atoll was the site of the Makin Raid on 17 August, when two companies of the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion/165th Infantry, landed from the submarines USS "Argonaut" (SM-1) and USS "Nautilus" (SS-168), as a feint to draw Japanese attention away from the planned invasion route through the Solomons. While they annihilated the local garrison, comprised 806 Japanese troops, they failed in their initial objectives of taking prisoners and gathering intel.
1943: 597 RAF bombers attack Peenemunde on the Baltic coast, the birthplace of the V weapons. 376 B-17 and B-24 heavy bomber aircrafts of the US 8th Air Force carry out double raids against the ball-bearing plants at Schweinfurt and the Messerschmitt fighter works at Regensburg, losing 80 aircraft in the process.
1943: German and Italian forces successfully evacuate Sicily across the Strait of Messina, with little interference by the Allies. This allows Montgomery and Patton enter Messina. The whole of Sicily is now in allied hands. The shelling of the Italian mainland from Messina begins.
1944: The 16th Infantry Rgt of the EDES (=National Republican Greek League) resistance group under Col Demetrios Camaras, attacks the 254 German troops occupying the town of Menina, Epirus and after a two-day battle, captures the town. German losses accounted for 87 killed. 109 were captured prisoners. Greek casualties accounted for 25 dead, 40 wounded.
A EDES coy - 1944
1944: In retaliation for their clash with Greek ELAS insurgents, on 6, 7 and 8 March 1944, in the suburb of Piræus, Kokkiniá (a Communist stronghold), during which dozens of German troops and Greek members of the collaborationist Security Battalions, and ca 100 ELAS fighters were killed, the roundup of Kokkiniá occurs. 4,000 German troops and Greek members of the Security Battalions (under their CO, Colonel Ioannes Plytzanopulos), raid Kokkiniá and mass arrest 20,000 Kokkinians who are held for hours at the Hosia Xenia square, the central town square of the suburb. The operation aimed at reducing the insurgent present in the area. Hundreds of people got beaten up badly. 315 Kokkinians, identified as being active members of the resistance, were executed on sight.
Diamanto Kumbakes was amongst the executed; as she was brought into the execution ground, she shouted brothers and sisters! keep your head up! thousands will avenge us!
1962: East German border guards kill 18-year-old Peter Fechter, a bricklayer, as he attempts to cross the Berlin Wall into West Berlin becoming one of the first victims of the wall.
The dead body of Peter Fechter lying next to the Berlin Wall - 17 August, 1962
1974: The Turkish operations in Cyprus, end. Turkish forces captured 38% of the island's area. Turkish casualties during the Cyprus conflict accounted for 498 killed, 1,200 wounded. Turkish-Cypriots lost 70-340 killed, 1,000 wounded. Greek casualties (ELDYK mostly) accounted for 88 killed, 148 wounded, 83 missing (presumably dead). Cypriot National Guard losses accounted for 309 killed, 1,141 wounded, 909 missing (presumably dead). The front line became the border, as it remains today. Some 160,000 - 200,000 Greek-Cypriot refugees fled to the south.
Lt. Gen Nurettin Ersin (1st from the left, front row), the head of the Turkish Operation Attila, the invasion of Cyprus, and Maj. Gen Betrettin Demirel (2nd from the left, front row) CO of the 39th Division and head of the amphibious invasion of Pentemilli, with staff officers
08-20-2010, 06:30 AM
636: During the Byzantine-Arab Wars, the five-day Battle of Hieromyax (or Yarmuk) ends. Most early Muslim accounts place the size of the Muslim forces between 25,000 and 40,000, under Khalid ibn al-Walid, nd the number of Byzantine forces between 40,000 and 80,000, under the Byzantine Emperor Flavius Heraclius Augustus, commonly known as Heraclius. The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which permanently ended Byzantine rule south of Anatolia. The Battle of Yarmouk is regarded as one of the most decisive battles in military history and it marked the first great wave of Islamic conquests after the death of Muhammad, heralding the rapid advance of Islam into the then Christian Levant.
917: During the Byzantine-Bulgarian Wars, the Battle of Achelous occurs. It's fought between the ca 60-000 Bulgarians under Tsar Simeon I and the 30,000-60,000 Byzantines under General Leo Phocas. The battle of Achelous was one of the worst disasters that ever befell a Byzantine army, and one of the greatest military successes of Bulgaria.
1941: German 11. Armee (Generaloberst Eugen Ritter von Schobert) captures Kherson on the Black Sea and opens the gate to the Crimea.
1944: The allies seal the Falaise gap, with blocking forces taking 4,000 prisoners. However, the Germans in the Falaise pocket break out along a single road and stream out of the pocket for six hours before the pocket is resealed. The Allies estimate that 10,000 Germans have died in the pocket and 50,000 prisoners taken. Although one German division (77th Infantry Division) is annihilated, 26 extremely weak divisions do escape the pocket. The U.S. 79th Division reaches the west bank of the Seine above Paris. Free French forces rise in Paris, while de Gaulle is reported in France.
1944: The Soviets launch an offensive into Romania with 900,000 men (96 divisions), 1,400 tanks and 1,700 aircraft. Advances up to 12 miles are reported as the Russian plan to surround 23 German divisions (360,000 men) takes shape.
1953: The Soviet Union publicly acknowledges that it had tested a hydrogen bomb; it was their first Sloika design test, Joe 4, with a yield equivalent to 400 kilotons of TNT (only 15%–20% from fusion).
1968: 200,000 Warsaw Pact troops and 5,000 tanks invade Czechoslovakia to end the Prague Spring of political liberalization. During the invasion, 72 Czechs and Slovaks are killed, hundreds are wounded. Alexander Dubček, the leader of Czechoslovakia and head of the Prague Spring, called upon the people not to resist in order to avoid bloodshed. He was arrested and taken to Moscow with several of his colleagues.
1988: Iran accepts United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 598, leading to a 20 August 1988 cease-fire thus ending Iran-Iraq war which lasted nearly eight years, from September of 1980 until August of 1988.
1998: In retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the United States military launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan.
08-21-2010, 05:37 AM
1689: During the Jacobite Rebellions (a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in the British Isles occurring between 1688 and 1746 aimed at returning of the House of Stuart, to the throne) the Battle of Dunkeld occurs. It was fought between a 4,000-strong army formed by Jacobite clans, under Alexander Cannon, supporting King James VII of Scotland and a government regiment (1,200 men) of covenanters, under William Cleland, supporting William of Orange, in the streets around Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland. The Jacobites routed, having lost around 300 men. Losses on the government side are unclear, but included the 27-year Colonel Cleland, who is buried in the cathedral.
The Dunkeld Cathedral
1808: During the Peninsular War, the Battle of Vimeiro occurs. It's fought between an Anglo-Portuguese army of 20,500 men, under Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and the 14,000 French of Jean-Andoche Junot, 1st Duc d'Abrantès. The French lost 2,000 killed and wounded. Vimeiro marks the first Anglo-Portuguese victory of the Peninsular War. With the Convention of Sintra, signed 10 days later, the defeated French army was transported back to France by the Royal Navy, complete with its guns and equipment and the loot it had taken from Portugal.
1942: During the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Battle of the Tenaru occurs. On the night of August 20-21 1942, the men of US Marines 2d Bn/1st Marines occupying the west bank of the Tenaru creek, were attacked by Japanese forces, known as Ichiki's First Element, under Colonel Kiyonao Ichiki, CO of the 28th Infantry Regiment, approaching from the east. Fighting lasted throughout the night and into the next morning. The Marines, reinforced by 1st Bn/1st Marines, destroyed much of Ichiki's command. Japanese lost ca 800 killed.
1963: The Xa Loi Pagoda Raids occur. They were a series of synchronized attacks on various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities of South Vietnam shortly after midnight on 21 August, 1963. The raids were executed by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under Colonel Le Quang Tung, and combat police, who took their orders directly from Ngo Dinh Nhu, the younger brother of the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem. Over 1,400 Buddhists were arrested, and estimates of the death toll and missing ranged up to the hundreds.
1991: The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, initiated by a group of hard-line members of the Communist Party (КПСС) to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, collapses.
08-22-2010, 05:34 AM
1138: During the Scottish Invasion of England, the Battle of the Standard occurs. 10,000 Scots under King David were defeated by a 16,000-strong, mixed Norman-English force of barons and civil militia under William le Gros, 1st Earl of Albemarle. The two armies met near Northallerton, North Yorkshire. The battle is known under that name, because the holy standard of St. Cuthbert was carried into battle on a cart. The consequences of the battle were minor insofar as the balance of power. The Scots remained a threat in the north.
1485: During the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of of Bosworth Field occurs. It's fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York for the throne of England. The battle was won by the Lancastrians. Their leader Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, became the first English monarch of the Tudor dynasty (Henry VII). His opponent Richard III, the last king of the House of York, was killed in the battle. Bosworth Field marks the end of the Plantagenet dynasty.
King Henry VII of England, holding the Tudor Rose
1791: The slaves of the French colony of Saint-Domingue (today's Haiti) rose in revolt under François-Dominique Toussaint L'ouverture and plunged the colony into civil war.
1864: With the signing of the First Geneva Convention by the representatives of twelve countries (Baden, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hesse, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Prussia, Spain, Switzerland, Württemberg; Norway and Sweden signed in December), the Red Cross is formed.
WWI-1914: 27,000 French soldiers are killed on this single day in an offensive thrust to the east of Paris, towards the German borders.
1922: Michael Collins, Commander-in-Chief of the Irish Free State Army, is shot dead at Béal na mBláth, County Cork, during the Irish Civil War.
1942: Under heavy pressure from the US, Brazil declares war on Germany and Italy.
The FEB (=Brazilian Expeditionary Force) patch
1978: The Sandinistas of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, the Socialist Revolutionaries of Nicaragua, capture the National Palace of Nicaragua.
Daniel Ortega, the Leader of FSLN with Castro
1813: During the War of the Sixth Coalition (the sixth attempt by several European powers to contain Napoleonic France) the Battle of Großbeeren occurs. The 60,000 French under Marshal Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio are defeated by the combined 80,000-strong Prusso-Swedish army under the Swedish Crown Prince Karl Johan. The French lost ca 4,500 killed and wounded while the allies suffered 1,000 killed and wounded. Napoleon was furious with Oudinot: It is truly difficult to have fewer brains than the duke of Reggio!The crown prince Karl Johan was none other than turncoat and general most hateable guy of the times, Bernadotte ;)
He "took over" from von Bülow after the battle and wrote it up as his victory, despite the vact that Bülow had actually violated his orders by not withdrawing and engaging the french..
Also they reenact this battle every year, so right now there's a battle going on there :)
08-24-2010, 06:03 AM
49 BC: During the Cæsar's Civil War (one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire, fought between Cæsar and his followers - the Populares - and the Senate and its followers - the Optimates - supported by Gnæus Pompey the Great) the Battle of the Bagradas River occurs, in N. Africa. A Populares' army led by Quintus Scribonius Curio is defeated by the combined forces of Optimates under Publius Attius Varus, the Roman governor of Africa, and the Numedians led by their King Juba I. Curio fought to his death, along with his army, rather than attempting to flee to his camp.
1511: The Portuguese naval general officer, Afonso de Albuquerque, with 17 or 18 ships and 1,200 men, subdued the port city of Malacca which controls the strategic strait of Malacca, the narrow, 805 km/500-mile stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Fidalgo (=nobleman) Afonso
1814: During the Anglo-American War, the Burning of Washington occurs. British troops (ca 4,500) under Maj. General Robert Ross, invade Washington DC occupy it and set fire to many public buildings amongst them the White House and the United States Capitol.
1821: The Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821) ends, with the signing of the Treaty of Córdoba, Veracruz, Mexico. Representatives of the Spanish crown and the Mexican General Agustín Cosme Damián de Iturbide y Aramburu sign the treaty which recognized Mexican independence.
1942: Battle joined in the Eastern Solomons with the Japanese trying to land reinforcements on Guadalcanal. US forces beat off the Japanese Combined Fleet sinking the carrier Ryujo, but suffering damage to the carrier USS "Enterprise" (CV-6).
1949: The North Atlantic Treaty, signed on April 4, 1949, is ratified by the 12 countries that signed it (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, United States). NATO goes into effect.
1968: Opération Canopus; France's first two-stage thermonuclear test, at Fangataufa atoll. The test made France the fifth country to test a thermonuclear device (2,600 Kt) after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and China.
The crown prince Karl Johan was none other than turncoat and general most hateable guy of the times, Bernadotte ;)
He "took over" from von Bülow after the battle and wrote it up as his victory, despite the vact that Bülow had actually violated his orders by not withdrawing and engaging the french..
Also they reenact this battle every year, so right now there's a battle going on there :)
So, it's good ol' Friedrich von Bülow again. Thanks JCR
08-28-2010, 05:37 AM
489: Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, invades Italy with the approval of the eastern emperor Zeno. On 28 August, Theodoric defeats Odoacer, the King of Italy, at the Battle of Isonzo, forcing his way into Italy.
A 5th c. Theodoric Solidus
1189: During the Third Crusade, the 25,000 crusaders of Guy de Lusignan, King of the crusader state of Jerusalem, begin the Siege of Acre.
1542: During the Turkish–Portuguese Conflicts of 1538–1557, the Battle of Ofla in Ethiopia occurs. About 290 Portuguese musketeers and 23 Ethiopians under Cristóvão da Gama are scattered by the several thousand Ottomans led by the Somali Imam and General of Adal who invaded Ethiopia, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi. Cristóvão da Gama was captured and brought to Ahmad al-Ghazi's camp, where he was tortured in an attempt to force him to convert to Islam. In the end Ahmad al-Ghazi chopped off Gama's head.
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
1640: During the Bellum Episcopale (=Bishop's War), a political and military conflict, which occurred in 1639 and 1640 centred around the nature of the governance of Church of Scotland, and the rights and powers of the crown, the Battle of Newburn occurs. A 24,000-strong Scottish Covenanter army under Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, defeated a 15,000-strong English Royalist army under Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway, 2nd Viscount Killultagh.
The conqueror of Newburn, Alexander Leslie
1824: During the Greek War for Independence, the Naval Battle of Gherontas occurs. In 1824, Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II, unable to supress the revolted Greeks alone, asked for help from Mehmet Ali Pasha the Vali (=governor) of Egypt, Syria & Arabia. Mehmet Ali, assigned to his son Ibrahim the task to handle the Greek question according to his wills. Ibrahim brewed a bold plot with determination:
Ibrahim's plan envisaged an annihilating victory of the Turco-Egyptian fleet over the revolted Greeks in the Aegean, as requirement for a succesful landing operation on Greece (on the Peloponnese specifically). Thus, on 6 June, the Ottoman fleet destroyed completely the island of Kassos and on the 21st, the island of Psara. According to Ibrahim's plan, the next "victim" would be Samos. Hosref Pasha, with 40 frigates and corvettes, set sail for Samos and on 17 July, the Ottoman fleet was sighted off Samos. The Greek fleet, with only 21 warships and 4 fireships, did its best to avoid the Ottomans draw close to Samos, engaging them in a series of harassing battles for a week. Hosref withdrew his fleet and returned to Bodrum, in Minor Asia. There he waited for the Egyptian fleet to arrive. And indeed, on 19 August, the Egyptians arrived as planned. Ibrahim divided his fleet into two groups. One group (under the Egyptian Ismael Gibraltar) would attack sections of the main Greek line and destroy them before other ships could come to their aid. The other group (under Hosref Pasha) would attack the enemy, break through their lines and then cut off the retreat of the enemy fleet. The Turco-Egyptian fleet numbered 25 frigates, 25 corvettes, 50 brigs and 300 freighters with 2,500 guns, assembled along the Bodrum coast.
The Greek fleet assembled around the islands of Patmos, Leros and Lipsi with 70 warships (800 guns). The ships came from Hydra, Spetsæ & Psara. On 22 August, the Greek Admiral Andreas Miaoules arrived from Hydra onboard his flagship Kimon.
The statue of Admiral Miaoules at Hydra
On 28 August, early in the morning, 22 Greek warships left the Gherontas bay, moving on silent, searching for the Ottoman flagship. Guessing that the rest of the Greek fleet must be nearby, Ismael Gibraltar with his fleet, set out from Bodrum to engage the Greeks (his plan was to break through the Greek line and with his massive force - compared to the force confronted him - to crush the Greeks). As he did so, Miaoules with the rest of the Greek fleet appeared out of the blue. Ismael Gibraltar, immediately made the signal to change routes and ordered his ships to attack the Greek flagship. Papanikoles, with his fireships, runned to the enemy frigates to defend the flagship. The Ottomans broke the line, trying to avoid the visible danger. Papanikoles' effort to burn the enemy frigates, failed though (due to the wind). The Spetsan Lekkas Matrozos with his fireship, tried to attach his vessel on a Turkish brig but he failed too. In a similar effort, Andreas Pipinos was seriously wounded. Hosref Pasha, with his fleet, entered the battle, trying to block the Greeks combine their forces. The two Greek forces united though and the battle started. Ibrahim ordered his ships to steer and take advantage of the gap created between enemy vessels. Hosref Pasha, watching this, and to show that the Turks are no less courageous than the Egyptians, ordered his ships to do the same. Thus, the Turkish and Egyptian ships, engaged with the Greeks in a general melee.
The Turks though, were unaware that they were about to put themselves against the most skilful sea captain of the Aegean - Andreas Miaoules.
Miaoules, knowing that the Greek vessels are smaller and more agile than the large ships of the Turks, signaled his ships to divide into two squadrons. The first squadron would engage the Egyptians, the second the Turks. He also ordered the 17 fireships to enter the battle. The Spetsan fireships under Lazaros Mussus, attacked the Egyptians. The Hydran fireships, under Georgakes Theokhares, attacked the Turks. The Hydran Georgios Vatikiotes on a small fireship, blew up a large Turkish frigate with 1,100 crew with all hands on-board. Panic spread amongst the Turco-Egyptian fleet. In the evening, Hosref Pasha accepted his defeat and sailed back to Bodrum. Ismael Gibraltar, withdrew to Crete. Thus, Samos was saved. The combat was so unequal, that the French Admiral and writer Julien de la Gravière, comments on the battle of Gherontas:
Perhaps, seamanship has nothing more interesting to display other than the events that took place at the Gherontas battle.
The Ottoman defeat led ultimately to the Greek control of the Aegean Sea. The Greeks were thus able to provide troops and provisions to the mainland from the islands without the fear of the Ottomans.
WWI-1914: The First Naval Battle of the Great War, the Battle of Heligoland Bight, fought at the North Sea, occurs. The 54-strong British Grand Fleet under Admiral of the Fleet David Richard Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, ambushed the Hochseeflotte (=German High Seas Fleet) under Admiral Franz Ritter von Hipper. Three German light cruisers and one destroyer were sunk. Three more light cruisers were damaged, 712 sailors killed, 530 injured and 336 taken prisoner. The British suffered one light cruiser and three destroyers damaged, 35 killed and 40 wounded. The battle was regarded as a great victory in Britain, where the returning ships were met by cheering crowds.
1924: The August Insurrection, an unsuccessful uprising of the anti-Soviet Georgian Patriots begins, aimed at restoring the independence of Georgia from the Soviet Union. The insurrection was suppressed by the Red Army and CheKa troops under orders of Joseph Stalin and Sergo Ordzhonikidze. Several thousand citizens of Georgia were purged.
Ordzhonikidze, Stalin & Mikoyan
1943: The Danish government refuse a German ultimatum, as the sabotage campaign run by the Danish Resistance, reaches a crescendo.
1944: The last German garrison at Marseilles surrenders to the French, who take 37,000 prisoners for 4,000 French casualties.
1988: During the Ramstein Airshow, three aircraft of the Frecce Tricolori demonstration team collide and the wreckage falls into the crowd. 75 are killed and 346 seriously injured.
Graphic video-warning! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoWKoiE0hi4)
1991: Following the failed coup d'état attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Union collapses – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.
08-29-2010, 06:37 AM
1350: During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Les Espagnols sur Mer (=the Spanish on the Sea) occurs. An English fleet of 50 ships commanded by Edward III, the King of England, with his son, Edward of Woodstock, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Prince of Aquitaine nom de guerre the Black Prince, defeated a Castilian fleet of 40 ships commanded by the Franco-Castilian Charles d'Espagne at the Southern coast of England, off Winchelsea. Between 14 and 26 Castilian ships were captured, and some were sunk, while 2 English vessels were sunk and many suffered heavy losses.
1521: Belgrade is finally captured by Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent and his 250,000 soldiers. Most of the city was razed to the ground and its entire Christian population was deported to Istanbul, to the area since known as the Belgrad Ormanı (=Belgrade forest).
1526: During the Ottoman Wars in Europe, the Battle of Mohács occurs. A 35-40,000-strong Hungarian army under the King Lajos II of Hungary and Bohemia, was defeated by the 55-65,000 Ottomans led by Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. The Hungarian King was killed in the battle. The Ottoman victory led to the partition of Hungary for several centuries between the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Monarchy, and the Principality of Transylvania. The death of Lajos II marked the end of the Lithuanian Jagiellon dynasty (their dynastic claims were absorbed by the Habsburgs).
The last King of the House of Jagiellons, King Lajos II
1541: The Ottoman Turks capture Buda, the capital of the Hungarian Kingdom. The West and North portions of Hungary recognized a Habsburg as king and were named Royal Hungary, while the Central and Southern counties were occupied by the Sultan. The East was ruled by the son of Zápolya under the name Eastern Hungarian Kingdom which after 1570 became the Principality of Transylvania.
1665: During the Northern Wars, the Swedes enter Warsaw unopposed, under their King Karl X Gustav. Jan II Casimir, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, fled to Silesia. He was regarded a weak king and even members of Polish nobility encouraged Karl Gustav to claim the Polish crown.
Karl X Gustav of Sweden
1756: Frederick II the Great, the King of Prussia, with his well-prepared army crossed the frontier and preemptively invaded Saxony, thus beginning the Seven Years' War which lasted until 1763.
Prussian Infantry advance
WWI-1916: The Greek D' Corps surrenders to the Germans. Its troops board trains and are moved to Görlitz, Germany, where they will remain until the end of the War. Bulgarian troops occupy Eastern Macedonia and Thrace regions of Greece.
The Greeks at Görlitz
WWI-1918: The New Zealanders of the New Zealand Division, captured Bapaume (east of Amiens, south of Arras), breaking through the Le Transloy-Loupart trench system. By 08:30 hours a company (Capt. H. C. Meikle) of the 3rd Rifles had entered Bapaume.
1944: The British begin the Race for Amiens. U.S. troops liberate Soissons, 96 km (60 miles) Northeast of Paris. Montelimar is taken by the French who also cross the Rhone in several places. The Canadians enter Rouen.
1944: The Soviets capture the Romanian oilfields at Ploesti, Romania and enter Hungarian occupied Transylvania.
1944: The Slovak Uprising begins. Itwas an armed insurrection organized by the Slovak resistance movement during World War II. It was launched on August 29, 1944 from Banská Bystrica in an attempt to overthrow the collaborationist Slovak State of Jozef Tiso. Although the rebel forces (ca 18,000, later increased to 78,000) were defeated by Nazi Germany, guerrilla warfare continued until the Soviet Army liberated Slovakia in 1945.
1949: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as First Lightning or Joe 1, at Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.
08-30-2010, 05:08 AM
1363: In late August 1363 AD the two main contenders for control of China, Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang, faced off on Poyang (also called Boyang) Lake, the largest freshwater body of water in China. In the end Zhu Yuanzhang would win the battle and go on to found one of China’s greatest dynasties: the Ming. Accounts say hundreds of boats and around 850,000 sailors from the combined fleets of the Han and the Ming navies met in Lake Poyang. The Han by far had the larger navy, which consisted of 11 squadrons and more than 600,000 men equipped with what the Han called lóu Chuán (楼船, tower ships) which were essentially floating fortresses, crammed with troops.
1799: During the War of the Second Coalition, the Vlieter incident occurs: The surrender without a fight of a squadron of the navy of the Batavian Republic, commanded by Rear-Admiral Samuel Story, during the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland to the British navy under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral Sir Charles Mitchell, on a sandbank near the Channel known as De Vlieter, near Wieringen.
Sir Ralph Abercromby
1813: During the War of the Sixth Coalition, the two-day Battle of Kulm occurs. 32,000 French troops under General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg, attacked an army of 54,000 Austrians, Russians, and Prussians under the Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Bogdanovich Barklay-de-Tolli, but were defeated with heavy losses on both sides.
1922: During the Greek Campaign to Minor Asia, the Second Battle of Dumlupınar, which began on the 16 August, ends. It was the last battle in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922. The Greek forces were organised in the Army of Asia Minor, under Lt. General Georgios Hatzanestes, with a total of 177,000 men in 12 infantry and 1 cavalry divisions. The Turkish forces were organised in the Western Front, under General Ismet Pasha, with a total of 208,000 men in 18 infantry and 5 cavalry divisions. The Turkish plan envisaged the launching of converging attacks on the entire front against the occupied by the Greeks defensive line. The Greek high command although anticipated a major Turkish offensive, failed to estimate correctly the size of the Turkish formations and the exact date of the Turkish attack. When the Turkish attack opened, Greek reinforcements were still underway to the front. In the first three days of the battle, the biggest part of Greek A' and B' Corps, with some 34 infantry battalions and 130 artillery pieces was destroyed as an effective fighting force. The remaining I and VII Infantry Divisions were too weak to hold against the Turkish offensive. At 23:00 hours, on 30 August 1922, Maj. General Frangu ordered his forces (I & VII ID) to retreat further westwards. The end of the battle of Dumlupınar spelt the beginning of the end for the Greek presence in Asia Minor.
To commemorate this victory, 30 August is celebrated as Zafer Bayramı (=Victory Day), a national holiday in Turkey.
1942: Rommel begins his final attempt to break through at El Alamein in the Battle of Alam Halfa. However, the 15th Panzer Division fails to break through the 8th Army's lines and sustains heavy casualties losing about 30 tanks forcing the Germans to withdraw back to their start lines.
1945: A Royal Naval force takes Hong Kong.
1995: NATO launches Operation Deliberate Force against Bosnian Serb forces.
08-30-2010, 05:57 AM
August 30, Victory Day, Turkey
Each year on 30th August the people of Turkey celebrate "Victory Day," which honours the success of the Turkish forces in what was to be the final battle of the Turkish War of Independence, and the cessation of links with the Ottoman Empire. The holiday is traditionally dedicated to the Turkish Armed Forces.
The Battle of Dumlupinar was the last battle in the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922), part of the Turkish War of Independence in the closing days of the Ottoman Empire. The battle was fought between 26th August and 30th August 1922, near Afyonkarahisar in Turkey.
Following the battle on the Sakarya River (Battle of Sakarya) in August & September 1921, the Greek forces under General Papoulas retreated to a defensive line extending from the town of Izmir (Nicomedia) to the towns of Eskisehir and Afyonkarahisar. The Greek line formed a 700 km arc, stretching in a broadly North-South direction along difficult hilly ground, with high hills (called tepes) rising out of broken terrain. Most militarists considered it to be easily defensible.
A single track railway line ran from Afyonkarahisar to Dumlupinar (a fortified valley town some 50 kilometres West of Afyonkarahisar surrounded by the mountains Murat Dagi and Ahir Dagi), and thence to Izmir (Smyrna) on the coast. This railway was the main Greek supply route. The Greek HQ at Smyrna was effectively incapable of communicating with the front, or exercising operational control.
The Turkish attacked the Southern flank of the Afyonkarahisar defensive line on the morning of 26th August 1922, watched from the commanding peak of Kocatepe by Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), CGS Fevzi Pasha, Ismet Inönü and Nureddin.
The Turkish guns silenced the Greek batteries by knocking out their observation posts. The Turkish infantry took advantage of this and advanced against strong opposition and made significant gains.
The breakthrough the next day came when the Turkish 4th Corps under Col. Sami took the 5,000 foot high peak of Erkmentepe, and Fahrettin led his cavalry into the Greek rearguard. The Greeks fell into disarray. General Frangou (commanding the Greek 'I' Division) retreated West from Dumlupinar, losing touch with 'A' Corps. The Greek Corps commanders Tricoupis and Dighenis fell back towards Dumlupinar, but many of their disintegrating forces ran for Izmir.
The Turks closed the ring around Dumlupinar on 30th August with Fevzi and Mustafa Kemal commanding the two encircling columns, and finally secured the victory. The remnants of the Tricoupis and Dighenis Corps, who were trying to escape North from Dumlupinar across the slopes of Murat Dagi, were surrounded on 2nd and 3rd September as they descended to the Banaz valley.
The Turks chased the other fleeing Greeks 250 miles to Izmir. The last Greek troops left Anatolia on 16th September. The Armistice of Mudanya was signed by Turkey, Italy, France and Great Britain on 11th October 1922. Greece was forced to accede to it on 14th October 1922.
Brief history of the whole event- Part 1
08-31-2010, 05:30 AM
1813: During the Peninsular War, British and Portuguese troops besieging San Sebastián, Spain, defeat French occupying troops. The relieving troops lost all self-control and burnt down the city. British rank and file and even high officials ran completely amok, pillaging and burning the city a whole week long, torturing inhabitants suspect of keeping money or gems, raping women and killing an estimate 1,000 inhabitants. Only the street at the foot of the hill (now called 31 August Street) remained intact. The tragedy is remembered every year on 31 August with an extensive candlelit ceremony.
1907: The Anglo-Russian Convention is signed by Alexander Petrovich Izvolsky, Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire and Sir Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock, the British Ambassador to Russia. The Convention served as the catalyst for creating the Triple Entente (with the French Third Republic joining the alliance), which was the basis of the alliance of countries opposing the Central Powers in 1914 at the onset of World War I.
The Triple Entente: Marianne (=French Third Republic), Mother Russia, Britannia
1920: During the Polish-Soviet War, the Battle of Komarów occurs. The Soviet 1st Horse Army under Semyon Mikhailovich Budyonny sustained heavy casualties and barely avoided being outflanked by six Polish Infantry and Cavalry Regiments under Juliusz Rómmel. The Polish lost approximately 500 killed and 700 horses. It is assumed that the Soviets lost at least 4,000 men during the battle.
Polish Memorial to the Battle
1923: Following the murder, within Greek territory, of the Italian General Enrico Tellini and three of his assistants by unknown assailants, on 27 August, Italian forces bombarded and occupied the Greek island of Corfu on 31 August, killing at least fifteen civilians because Greece was unable to identify the killers. The ulterior motive for the invasion was Corfu's strategic position at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea. Italian forces left Corfu on 27 September.
Corfuans (Corfiots to the locals) watch, as Italian troops parade on the streets of Corfu
1939: The Gleiwitz incident occurs. It was a staged attack by Nazi forces posing as Poles on 31 August 1939, against the German radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia, Germany, on the eve of World War II in Europe. A small group of men in Polish Army uniforms seized control of the local Radio broadcasting station and transmitted a short anti German message in Polish. Germany claimed these were acts of Polish aggression.
1944: The British 11th Armoured Division captures Amiens and take the German bridge across the Somme in surprise attack. Montpellier, Beziers, Narbonne and Nice all taken. The U.S. Third Army reaches the river Meuse.
1944: The Soviet 3rd Ukrainian Front captures Bucharest, the capital of Romania and begins to round up members of the Fascist Antonescu government.
1949: During the Greek Civil War, the last Battle fought between the Communist Democratic Army and the Greek Army ends. Operation Torch, the last offensive operation conducted by the Greek Army with eight divisions, two independent brigades, fourteen light infantry regiments, 150 mountain and field artillery guns, 100 planes - including the just arrived 51 Curtiss SB2C Helldiver - against the Communist strongholds of Mount Grammos and Vitsi begins on 2 August. On 27 August, the Army seized Mount Grammos and Communist morale and resistance collapsed. By 31 August the Greek Army was firmly in control of Grammos-Vitsi. The retreat of the 8,000 insurgents of the Greek Democratic Army in Albania after its defeat, marks the end of the Greek Civil War. Greek Army suffered 15,268 men killed in the Civil War, 37,255 wounded, 3,843 missing. Greek Democratic Army lost ca 38,000 insurgents. 5,000 were executed, both sides. 4,289 civilians executed by Communists.
General Thrasybulus Tsakalotos, head of Operation Torch and conqueror of Grammos-Vitsi
08-31-2010, 10:09 PM
1813: During the Peninsular War, British and Portuguese troops besieging San Sebastián, Spain, defeat French occupying troops. The relieving troops lost all self-control and burnt down the city. British rank and file and even high officials ran completely amok, pillaging and burning the city a whole week long, torturing inhabitants suspect of keeping money or gems, raping women and killing an estimate 1,000 inhabitants. Only the street at the foot of the hill (now called 31 August Street) remained intact. The tragedy is remembered every year on 31 August with an extensive candlelit ceremony.
W...T....F?? This doesn't sound like the (disciplined) British at all.
W...T....F?? This doesn't sound like the (disciplined) British at all.
Happened with every british siege operation in Spain.
And with every other siege operation in history.
Every Hellenic Navy ship entering or sailing in Phaleron Bay honours the Averof while passing: The crew are ordered to attention (with the "Still to" (http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/upload/salpismata/27-akinisia.mp3) bugle call) and from the relevant Boatswain's pipe every man on decks stands to attention (http://www.hellenicnavy.gr/upload/salpismata/12-prosoxi.mp3), officers saluting, looking to the side where the Averof is in sighThis is called "front (nach backbord/steuerbord)" in german and "passing honours" in english. Is done every time two warships pass each other.
Also this is done with memorials or museum ships: germans render passing honours to Laboe memorial/U995, americans to the USS Arizona.
Russians to the Aurora, I guess.
Btw, the bugle calls/pipe calls are international
The greeks got them from the royal navy, the germans got them from the royal navy etc... :)
09-01-2010, 07:05 AM
Btw, the bugle calls/pipe calls are international
The greeks got them from the royal navy, the germans got them from the royal navy etc... :)
Thanks, didn't know that bugle calls/pipe calls are international...and yes, our Navy is heavy influenced by the Royal Navy (from the rank insignias to the uniforms)
09-02-2010, 05:05 AM
31 BC: During the Final War of the Roman Republic (fought between Cleopatra of Egypt, assisted by Mark Antony, and Octavian) the Naval Battle of Actium, fought on the Ionian Sea, at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf, Epirus, Greece (near the current Actium NATO AWACS forward operating base) occurs. 250 warships, mostly small liburnian vessels and Hexeres with 16,000 Legionary Marines and 3,000 archers commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, a close friend, son-in-law and lieutenant to Octavian, defeated a Ptolemaic fleet of some 230 warships, mostly quinqueremes with some larger Deceres with 2,000 Archers and 20,000 Legionary Marines, commanded by Mark Antony and supported by 60 Egyptian warships of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt. Mark Antony lost his fleet, his army deserted in large numbers; Octavian had sole and uncontested control of Mare Nostrum and following Mark Antony's and Cleopatra's death, became Augustus Cæsar of Rome.
1898: During the War of the Sudan, the Battle of Omdurman, near Khartoum, Sudan, occurs. A 25,800-strong Anglo-Egyptian army under Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, defeated a 52,000-strong army of Abdullah Ibn-Mohammed, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah. Around 10,000 Mahdist Sudanese were killed, 13,000 were wounded, and 5,000 were taken prisoner. Kitchener's force lost 47 men with 382 wounded.
1939: The Luftwaffe raids Warsaw. German troops capture the Jablunka pass in the Tatra mountains. Fighting continued for the strategic peninsula of Westerplatte at the mouth of the Vistula River. A massive attack was launched by 60 Stuka dive bombers of the II and III Stukageschwader Immelmann directed at crushing the garrison. The air assault was not directly followed up by a German attack from the ground and the Polish troops were able to reorganise their defences. Hitler indicates to the UK and France that he would withdraw from Poland provided that he was allowed to retain Danzig and the Polish Corridor. This was dismissed and a joint ultimatum was given to Germany to withdraw its troops from Poland within twelve hours or find itself in a state of war with Britain and France.
1945: The Instrument of Surrender of Japan is signed by Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and accepted aboard the battleship USS "Missouri" (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay.
09-02-2010, 06:27 AM
1979: An IRA bomb kills British World War II admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma and 3 others while they are boating on holiday in Sligo, Republic of Ireland. May those murdered by terrorists + Rest In Peace +
Actually, he was killed in Mullaghmore, Co. Leitreim,
Leitrim has a very small coastline between County Sligo and County Donegal.
On that day I was leaving Manorhamilton Military Post, County Leitreim, and returning to my Battalion base in Finner Camp, Bundoran, Co. Donegal, which is quite close by to Mullaghmore, It was the day before I was to start training for going overseas with the 46th Irish Battalion U.N.I.F.I.L.
Post #191 :- The final version of the Iron Cross (= Eisernes Kreuz) is also instituted on this date. WRONG! Technically, the last version of the Iron Cross is the 1957 de-Nazified version, official made for issue to German veterans of WW2.
09-02-2010, 08:40 AM
Actually, he was killed in Mullaghmore, Co. Leitreim,
Mullaghmore is in Sligo
09-02-2010, 10:15 AM
Mullaghmore is in Sligo
I stand corrected good Sir, for years I have been under the apprehension that the Leitreim County border started at:- Creevymore as you drive from the Sligo side and beginning at:- Castlegal, when in fact Google-Earth shows the true county borders at:- Crellagh coming from Sligo and at:- Magheracar / Bundoran.
My own fault for posting relying on memory and lack of coffee.:oops:
09-04-2010, 06:29 AM
476: Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when the Scirian Foederatus General, Odoacer, proclaims himself King of Italy, thus ending Western Roman Empire. The period of both cultural and economic deterioration as well as disruption of Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire, known as Middle Ages, begins.
1812: During the Anglo-American War, the Siege of Fort Harrison occurs. It opened on 4 September and lasted for 11 days. It was the first American land victory in the war of 1812, won by an outnumbered United States force under Zachary Taylor, who would later become the 12th President of the United States, garrisoned inside the fort against a combined Native American force of Miami, Potawatomi, Kickapoo and Winnebago warriors.
1939: The German 3. Armee and 4. Armee join in the Corridor and re-establish the land connection between East Prussia and the Reich that was severed in 1919 as a result of the Versailles Treaty. German troops cross the River Pilica in southern Poland. The German successes in Poland are beginning to wear down the Polish armies, which are now becoming isolated from one another, making the mounting of coordinated counter-attacks increasingly difficult. At Bydgoszcz, 1,000 Poles are murdered, including several dozen Boy Scouts who are shot against a wall by German troops.
1944: The British 11th Armoured Division takes Antwerp, Belgium, and the docks undamaged.
Captured Germans in Antwerp - 10 yr old boy and Major
1967: During the Vietnam War, Operation Swift, a search and destroy mission in the Quế Sơn Valley, carried out by Bravo, Delta, Mike and Kilo Companies of 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, begins. It ended on 15 September. The ensuing battles killed 114 Americans and an estimated 376 North Vietnamese.
1996: Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo (=Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army/FARC-EP) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare in which at least 130 Colombians are killed.
09-05-2010, 06:30 AM
1800: During the Napoleonic Wars, French General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois surrenders Malta to Great Britain. The British granted Vaubois and the French fair terms and the honours of war, including the right to keep their arms and spoils. General Vaubois and his troops were quickly repatriated to Marseilles.
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
1807: The Bombardment of Copenhagen with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets by the British, to prevent Denmark from surrendering its fleet to Napoleon, ends. The battle began on 16 August between the British troops led by General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart, and the Danish troops and militia under Heinrich Ernst Peymann. The Danish rejected British demands to surrender, so the British fleet under Admiral Sir James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, bombarded the city from 2 to 5 September 1807. More than 2,000 civilians and 3,000 militia and troops were killed and 30% of the buildings were destroyed during the battle. The Danish surrendered their fleet (18 ships of the line, 11 frigates, 2 smaller ships, 2 ship-sloops, 7 brig-sloops, 2 brigs, 1 schooner and 26 gunboats) on 7 September.
1839: The First Opium War begins in China. It was the climax of trade disputes and diplomatic difficulties between China under the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire after China sought to restrict British opium traffickers. It ended on 1842 in a British victory.
1905: In New Hampshire, USA, the Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, ends the Russo-Japanese War.
WWI-1914: The First Battle of the Marne begins. It was fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory of the combined Anglo-French forces under Marshal Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre, against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth Johann Ludwig von Moltke the Younger (nephew of Count von Moltke). The war became a stalemate after the Allies won the Battle of the Marne.
1943: The US paratroops of the 503rd Parachute Regiment land behind about 20,000 Japanese troops at Lae, New Guinea.
1944: The U.S. 3rd Army crosses the Meuse as the British reach Ghent in Belgium.
1944: A German-Hungarian counterattack in the area of Cluj-Napoca in Romania fails.
1969: During the Vietnam War, US Army Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai.
A graphic photo taken by US Army photographer Ronald L. Haeberle on 16 March, 1968 in the aftermath of the My Lai massacre showing mostly women and children dead on a road (http://i51.*******.com/k1cbb5dotjpg)
1970: During the Vietnam War, Operation Jefferson Glenn begins. It was the last major operation in which U.S. ground forces participated in Vietnam. The United States 3rd Marine Division, 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thừa Thiên-Huế Province.
09-08-2010, 06:07 AM
1380: The Battle of Kulikovo, fought near the Don River, between combined Russian armies (50 - 60,000) under the command of the Grand Prince of Vladimir, Dmitri Ivanovich of Moscow and the Mongols of the Golden Horde (100 - 150,000) under the Tumenbashy (=general) Mamai, occurs. Mamai's allies, Grand Prince Oleg of Ryazan and Grand Prince Jogaila of Lithuania were late to the battle. After approximately three hours of battle (from noon to 3 p.m.) the Russian forces were successful, although suffering great casualties, in holding off the Horde's attack. The Russians lost ca 20,000 killed. The Mongol army was annihilated. The defeated Mamai was dethroned by a rival Mongol general, Tokhtamysh.
Grand Prince Dmitri Donskoi (=of the Don) is venerated as a Saint by the Russian Orthodox Church. The relief above, depicts the blessing of Grand Prince St Dmitri Donskoi by St Sergei of Radonezh before the Battle of Kulikovo
1449: During the Sino-Mongol War, the Battle of Tumu Fortress occurs. It was a frontier conflict between the Oirat (today's Kalmyks) Mongols and the Chinese Ming Dynasty which led to the capture of the Chinese Emperor Zhengtong. The Ming army of about 500,000 men under the eunuch Wang Zhen, was attacked, routed and almost destroyed by the 30,000 Mongols under the Oirat Khagan (=Emperor) Esen Tayisi. The Chinese emperor was captured, and was sent to Esen's main camp near Xianfu.
1514: During the Fourth Russo-Lithuanian War (a series of wars between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, allied with the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow), the Battle of Orsha occurs. An allied force of less than 30,000 troops from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Kingdom of Poland under the command of the Ruthenian Hetman Konstanty Ostrogski, defeated a Russian army of 13 -15,000 troops commanded by the Boyar Ivan Andreyevich Chelyadnin. Due to Ostrogski's Ruthenian descent, the battle is regarded by Belarusian nationalists as a symbol of national revival.
The conqueror of Orsha, Konstanty Ostrogski
1793: During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Battle of Hondschoote occurs. At Hondschoote, France, 40,000 Frenchmen under General Jean Nicolas Houchard and Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan, defeated 24,000 British and Hanoverian troops under Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. The French lost 3,000 killed and wounded while captured 6 flags and all of the Duke of York's artillery. The allied Anglo-Hanoverian army suffered 4,000 killed and wounded. General Houchard was later tried and guillotined for not pursuing the British.
The Monument to the Battle in Hondschoote, Nord, France
1796: During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Battle of Bassano, in Italy occurs. A 20,000-strong French army under Napoleon Bonaparte, defeated a 11,000-strong Austrian army under Dagobert Sigismund, Count Wurmser. Bonaparte executed a double flanking attack and Wurmser’s army collapsed quickly. About 600 Austrians were killed, 3,000 were captured, along with 8 flags, 35 cannon and a pontoon train. About half of the remaining Austrians fled to the east, while Wurmser with another group retreated to the south. The French suffered 400 killed, wounded or missing.
A young Napoleon Bonaparte
WWI-1914: Private Thomas James Highgate (13 May 1895 - 8 September 1914), was the first British soldier to be convicted of desertion and executed during that war.
1939: The Polish government leaves Warsaw for Lublin (Eastern Poland).
1941: Leningrad is now completely surrounded after German troops close the land bridge at Schliesselburg (a fortress built in 1323 by Prince of Novgorod Jury Danilovich on the island of Oreshek).
1943: Eisenhower announces the Italian unconditional surrender.
1944: The first V2 rockets hit London and Paris from mobile bases in Holland.
1944: The mother of seven and head of the resistance group Bumbulina (=the name of a heroine of the Greek War of Independence), the 45-year old Lela Karagiannes, is put before the German firing squad together with 72 other memebers of the resistance, in Athens, Greece. She died singing the Greek National Anthem.
Lela Karagiannes and her statue bust in her hometown, Chalkis, Eubœa
1945: United States troops arrive to partition the southern part of Korea in response to Soviet troops occupying the northern part of the peninsula a month earlier.
1951: The Treaty of Peace with Japan was officially signed by the nations of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, The Philippines, Poland, Saudi Arabia, the Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, Uruguay, The UK, The USA, Venezuela, Vietnam in San Francisco, California in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War.
The Monument to the Treaty of San Francisco in Tokyo, Japan
09-09-2010, 06:19 AM
9: During the Roman-Germanic Wars, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest occurs. Roman Legio XVII, Legio XVIII and Legio XIX, commanded by Publius Quinctilius Varus, are ambushed and destroyed by the 10,000 - 12,000 warriors from the Germanic tribes of Cherusci, Marsi, Chatti, Bructeri, Chauci and Sicambri under the Chieftain of the Cherusci, Arminius (=Hermann). According to the Roman historian Suetonius, Emperor Augustus was so shaken by the news that he stood butting his head against the walls of his palace, repeatedly shouting Quintili Vare, legiones redde! (=Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!). Varus had committed suicide by falling upon his sword. In Roman History, the Roman defeat in the battle was known as Clades Variana (=Varian Disaster).
The Hermannsdenkmal, the monument commemorating the Cherusci chieftain Hermann or Arminius at the Teutoburg Forest
1493: During the Hundred Years' Croatian-Ottoman War, the Battle of Krbava field occurs. A Croatian army of the Kingdom of Hungary (Croatia was during this period united under the crown of the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Croatian lords who fought in the battle were subjects of the unified crown) numbering some 8,000 foot, 2 - 3,000 heavy cavalry, under the Ban (=Ruler) of Croatia Emerik Derenčin and the Count of Cetin, Ivan Frankopan Cetinski, was decisively defeated by the 8,000 Akıncı (=irregular light cavalry) of the Ottoman Bosnian Sanjak Bey, Hadım Yakup Pasha. The defeat was resounding. In one single day, around 7,000 Croatian soldiers lost their lives, including Derenčin and Cetinski. Following the battle, scores of Croatian refugees moved toward Austria while others migrated to Italian coastal areas.
The CoA of the unified kingdom of Hungary and Croatia
1513: During the War of the League of Cambrai, the Battle of Flodden Field occurs. An invading Scottish army under the Scottish King James IV numbering some 30 - 34,000 troops, was defeated by the ca 26,000 English soldiers commanded by Sir Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Surrey, 13th Baron Segrave, 12th Baron Mowbray. It ended in a victory for the English and was the largest battle (in terms of numbers) fought between the two nations. Surrey's army lost 1,500 men killed. Scottish losses were somewhere between 5 - 10,000. James IV , King of Scots, died in the battle.
The Memorial to the Battle at Flodden Field
1922: The Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 ends with Turkish victory over the Greeks. The last Units of Greek C' Corps, board ships and abandon Smyrna/İzmir. A' and B' Corps have already been transported to Piræus, Greece, on 3 September. Greek losses in the 3-year war, accounted for 24,240 dead (KIA and dead from disease), 48,880 wounded, 17,630 made prisoners. Turkish losses accounted for 10,885 KIA, 22,690 dead from disease, 31,173 wounded, 9,000 made prisoners. The first 400 Turkish troops enter and take control of the city of Smyrna/İzmir. The Greek Orthodox Bishop of Smyrna, Chrysostom, is abducted by an angry Turkish mob incited by Nureddin Pasha and according to eyewitness accounts, is tied to a barber chair, cruelly tortured, and put to death.
Bishop Chrysostom of Smyrna, is venerated as a Martyr by the Orthodox Christians, especially of Greece and Cyprus
1939: The 8. Armee (Blaskowitz) captures Lodz and Radom, as the 1. and 4. Panzer-Division reach the outskirts of Warsaw. Further penetrations into the suburbs of Warsaw by the 4. Panzer-Division are repulsed by the city's defenders.
1943: All Italian forces within the German-controlled areas of Italy, southern France, Yugoslavia and Albania are disarmed without opposition and made prisoners of war. In Greece however, in the island of Cephallonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands, the 5,000 officers and other ranks of the Italian 33ª Divisione Fanteria Acqui (33rd Acqui Infantry Division), are massacred, drowned or otherwise exterminated. It was one of the largest prisoner of war massacres of the war, along with the Katyn massacre of Poles, and one of the largest-scale German atrocities to be committed by Wehrmacht troops (specifically, the 1. Gebirgs-Division) instead of the SS.
General Hubert Lanz, CO of the XXII Gebirgskorps, was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment at the Nuremberg Trials for the Cephallonia massacre, as well as the participation of his men in other atrocities in Greece.
Massacred Italian troops at the village of Troinnata, Cephallonia
The Monument to the Massacre, in Cephallonia, Greece
1943: Operation Avalanche sees the US Fifth Army (Lt. Gen. Mark Clark) land at Salerno, South East of Naples. Taranto is occupied by the British without resistance. Formation of an anti-Badoglio, Republican Fascist Government is formed in northern Italy.
2004: A one-tonne (1.1 ton) car bomb, which was packed into a small Daihatsu delivery van, exploded outside the Australian embassy at Kuningan District, South Jakarta, at about 10:30 local time (03:30 UTC), killing 9 people including the suicide bomber, and wounding over 150 others. It gutted the Greek Embassy on the 12th floor of an adjacent building, where three diplomats there were slightly wounded.
09-10-2010, 06:18 AM
1547: During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh occurs. An English army of tens of thousands (including several hundred German mercenary arquebusiers, a contingent of Italian mounted arquebusiers under Don Pedro de Gamboa and 6,000 cavalry) under Earl Marshal Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp, 1st Baron Seymour, decisively defeated a Scottish army numbering 22,000 or 23,000 men, while English sources claimed that it comprised 36,000, under the Scottish nobleman James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault and 2nd Earl of Arran. It was a catastrophic defeat for the Scots caused by the use of naval artillery (30 warships) by the English for the first time in a land battle in Britain. In Scotland, it was known as Bloody Saturday.
The Monument to the Battle, at Pinkie Cleugh, East Lothian, Scotland
1813: During the Anglo-American War, the Naval Battle of Lake Erie occurs. It was fought in Lake Erie off the coast of Ohio between nine warships of the US Navy commanded by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, and six warships of the Royal Navy, commanded by Lt. Commander Robert Heriot Barclay. The British suffered 41 killed, 93 wounded, while their entire squadron was captured. The British defeat ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit.
1939: German troops achieve a breakthrough at Kutno and Sandomir and reach the Vistula.
1944: The first allied patrol crosses German frontier east of Liege, near Aachen. US First Army (Lt. Gen. Hodges) liberates Luxembourg.
09-11-2010, 09:57 AM
Really, really great thread valtrex!!
09-13-2010, 05:53 AM
533: During the Byzantine-Vandal War, the Battle of Carthage occurs. A Gelimer's Vandal force of some 11,000, was routed by the 15,000 Byzantines under the Byzantine General Flavius Belisarius at Ad Decimum (=Ten Mile Post, literally at the tenth), a marker along the Mediterranean coast 10 miles (16 km) south of Carthage.
1759: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of the Plains of Abraham occurs. It was fought between the British Army and Navy, and the French Army, on a plateau just outside the walls of Quebec City, on land owned by a farmer named Abraham Martin. The battle involved ca 5,500 troops on the French side (including militia and native Odawa warriors) under General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Gozon, Marquis de Saint-Veran and approximately 4,800 troops (including Royal Marines) under General James Wolfe on the British side. The battle resulted in similar numbers of casualties on both sides of the field; the French had 644 men killed or wounded, while the British suffered 658 killed or wounded. Wolfe was killed at the height of the battle. Montcalm was wounded in the lower abdomen and died early the next morning. The battle is considered a decisive British victory.
1808: During the Finnish War, fought between Sweden and Russia from February 1808 to September 1809, the Battle of Jutas occurs, south of Nykarleby in Ostrobothnia, Finland. Around 1,500 Swedish soldiers under Lt. Gen. Georg Carl von Döbeln defeated a Russian force of some 1,500 troops commanded by General Kosatchkovsky. The battle has become legendary due to Johan Ludvig Runeberg's epic Döbeln at Jutas in the Finnish National Poem Fänrik Ståls Sägner (=The Tales of Ensign Stål), written in Swedish. The first and last stanzas of the poem, translated in Finnish, comprise the Finnish National Anthem.
The Monument to the Battle
1814: During the Anglo-American War and the Battle of Baltimore, the American lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, wrote Defence of Fort McHenry while detained on a British ship during the night of 13 September, 1814, as the British forces bombarded Baltimore's Fort McHenry. His brother-in-law, on hearing the poem Key had written, realized it fit the tune of The Anacreontic Song. Later retitled The Star-Spangled Banner, Key's words, accompanied with Stafford Smith's tune, became a well-known and recognized patriotic song throughout the United States, and was officially designated as the U.S. national anthem in 1931.
1882: During the Anglo-Egyptian War, the Battle of Tel el-Kebir occurs. It was fought between the 15,000 Egyptian troops of Colonel Ahmed Orabi and the 18,500 British troops under Maj. Gen. Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley. At 05:45 hours, Wolseley's troops were barely three hundred yards (274 m) from the entrenchments and dawn was just breaking, when Egyptian sentries saw them and fired. British troops, charged with the bayonet. The resulting battle was over in an hour. The British lost 57 killed, 380 wounded. The Egyptians lost 1,396 killed, 681 wounded. Lieutenant William Mordaunt Marsh Edwards was awarded a Victoria Cross for his heroism during the battle.
1914: During the Albanian-Northern Epirotan conflict (a short conflict between the newly independent Albanian State and the Greeks of Southern Albania, who revolted and declared Independence) the Battle of Berat occurs. An armed band of some 170 insurgents of Northern Epirus under the Cretan 1st Lt. Antonios Leontokianakes and the Epirotan Pericles Drellias raised the flag of the Independent Northern Epirus and took the Albanian town of Berat. 2,000 Albanian troops assaulted the town and captured Leontokianakes and Drellias alive. The Greek force suffered heavy casualties in the clash. Leontokianakes and Drellias were executed.
The Flag of Independent Northern Epirus
1922: The final act of the Greco-Turkish War, the Great Fire of Smyrna, commences. Turkish forces set fire to Smyrna, four days after they regained control of the city on 9 September.
Traditional Smyrnean folk song
1939: 60,000 Polish troops who are trapped in the Radom pocket surrender.
1943: The Battle of the Dodecanese, for supremacy in the Aegean begins, with an Allied raid on Rhodes. Within five days, the British 234th Infantry Brigade under Maj. Gen. Francis Gerald Russell Brittorous coming from Malta, together with 160 men from the SBS, 130 men from the LRDG (=Long Range Desert Group), A Company from the 11th Btn of the Parachute Regiment and Greek Sacred Band detachments had secured the islands of Kos, Kalymnos, Samos, Leros, Syme and Astypalæa, supported by ships of the British and Greek navies.
Greek Commandos of the Sacred Band, on a Dodecanesian island
1944: The U.S. Ninth Army (Lt. Gen. Simpson) is engaged in heavy fighting as the German garrison keeps up its resistance at Brest.
1944: The Soviets reach the Polish-Czechoslovak border. Romania signs an Armistice with the USSR.
Romanian troops in 1944
1968: Albania leaves the Warsaw Pact.
Hoxha's Albania formed a special relationship with Mao's China
09-14-2010, 05:14 AM
1812: After the Battle of Borodino, the chief commander of the Russian Army Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov, against the will of most of his generals, issued an order to retreat from Moscow. At ten in the morning of 14 September, Napoleon was standing among his troops on the Poklonny Hill looking at Moscow spread out before him. Finally he gave the order to enter the city. The French army crossed Moskva River in three columns in Fili, Dorogomilovo and Luzhniki, converging on the city center. Approximately an hour after the French entrance into Moscow, the fires started which culminated in the Moscow firestorm.
Napoleon at Poklonny Hill, overseeing Moscow
WWI-1914: First Battle of Aisne begins. Troops start to construct trenches across the entire length of the western front.
1943: The Greek Submarine RHNS "Katsones" (Y1) while trying to intercept a German troop transport, was attacked and sunk by the German submarine chaser Unterseeboot Jäger (Sub Hunter) "UJ-2101" (ex-Greek minesweeper "Strymon"). 32 men of the crew, including her CO Cdr Vassilios Laskos, went down with her, and 15 were captured. Lt. Eleutherios Tsukalas, the ship's XO, and petty officers Antonios Antoniu and Anastasios Tsigros, managed to swim for 9 hours and reached the island of Skiathos. There they hid and eventually managed to return to Egypt and rejoin the Greek fleet.
The Katsones and her last CO, Commander Vassilios Laskos RHN
1943: Heavy fighting continues in the Salerno bridgehead, with another German counter-attack. French commandos land in Corsica to help patriots fighting the Germans.
1943: In retaliation for their clash with the Cretan partisans of Kapetán Banduvás, occured on 12 September, the Germans roundup and execute 352 male inhabitants of Viannos county, Heraclion Prefecture, Crete.
1944: The US First Army (Lt. Gen. Hodges) reaches the Siegfried Line, to the East of Aachen and less than 64 km (40 miles) west of Bonn. Maastricht and Eysden in southern Holland are the first Dutch cities liberated. The US First Army occupies Nancy.
1944: Soviet troops reach the Vistula river in the Praga suburb of Warsaw, as planes drop supplies to the Polish Home Army which is trapped inside the city. Three Soviet Baltic fronts launch an offensive with 900,000 men, 3,000 tanks and 2,600 aircraft against German Heeresgruppe Nord (=Army Group North) (Generaloberst Schörner) which is forced to fall back to defensive positions around Riga, Latvia.
09-15-2010, 05:32 AM
994: During the Byzantine-Fatimid Wars, the Battle of Orontes occurs. A combined Byzantine-Hamdanid (Shi'a Arabs of Iraq and Syria) army under the Byzantine Stratēgós (=General) and Dux (=Duke) of Antioch, Mikhail Burtzes, was defeated by a Fatimid (Shi'a Caliphate of N. Africa) army under the vizier of Damascus, the Fatimid Turk, Manjutakin or Banjutakin at the banks of the River Orontes in Syria. Manjutakin's men succeeded in breaking through the Hamdanids, and attacked the Byzantine force in the rear. The Byzantine army panicked and fled, losing some 5,000 men.
The empire and flag of the Fatimid Caliphate
1762: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Signal Hill occurs. In reality it was a small skirmish, the last of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. 295 French troops under Guillaume Léonard de Bellecombe, were defeated by the 200 British regulars and militia under Lt. Col. William Amherst. The engagement was brief but fatal. The commander of the French detachment, Guillaume de Bellecombe, was seriously wounded. The British lost 4 or 5 killed, 19 wounded. French casualties were ca 40 killed and wounded.
1814: During the Anglo-American War, the two-day Battle of Baltimore, ends. The British landed a force of 5,000 troops under Major Gen. Robert Ross who marched toward Baltimore. During the march, an American sniper shot and kill General Ross. The city’s defence was under the overall command of Major General Samuel Smith, an officer of the Maryland Militia who headed 3,000 men. The British failed to capture Baltimore, Maryland. It proved to be a turning point in the War of 1812.
The Monument to the Battle
1827: During the Greek War for Independence the Naval Battle of Itea occurs. The Greek steamer named "Kartería" (=Perseverance), manned by Englishmen, Swedes and Greeks, together with a squadron of four smaller ships, under the overall command of the British naval officer and Philhellene, Frank Abney Hastings, attacked the Ottoman Flagship anchored inside the Itea bay, in the Corinthian Gulf, sank her, sank three more Turkish supply ships and destroyed with their guns the coastal batteries defending the bay.
Hastings, a veteran of Trafalgar, died in the harbour of Zakynthos on 1 June, 1828, of complications from wounds he received in the Battle of Aetolikon on 25 May. Maj. Gen. Charles George Gordon who served with him and knew him, wrote: If ever there was a disinterested and really useful Philhellene it was Hastings. He received no pay, and had expended most of his slender fortune in keeping the Kartería afloat for the last six months. His ship, too, was the only one in the Greek navy where regular discipline was maintained
1847: During the Mexican-American War, the Fall of Mexico City occurs. Winfield Scott captures the capital of Mexico.
General Scott's entrance into Mexico City in the Mexican-American War
1894: During the First Sino-Japanese War (fought from 1894 - 1894 for the control of Korea), the Battle of Pyongyang occurs. Imperial Japanese Army's 1st Army Corp, under the overall command of Marshal Yamagata Aritomo, launched a direct attack on the north and southeast corners of the walled city under very little cover. The Chinese defence was strong, but was eventually outmaneuvered by an unexpected flanking attack by the Japanese from the rear. At 16:30 hours, the garrison raised the white flag for surrender. Chinese casualties are estimated at 2,000 killed around 4,000 wounded. The Japanese lost 102 men killed, 433 wounded and 33 missing. Pyongyang fell to Japanese forces by the early morning of 16 September 1894.
WWI-1918: The Armée d'Orient (=Eastern Army) went on the offensive. The Serbian divisions of the ΙΙ Serbian Army supported by the Greek 35th Infantry Regiment of the Greek IV Division, advanced at an incredible speed towards Belgrade via Usküb (now Skopje) in order to dissect the Bulgarian armies. At the right side of the Ι Serbian Army the attack was carried out by the Greek 6th and 12th Infantry Regiments and the French Mounted Brigade of African Chasseurs, of the French 11 Division d'Infanterie Coloniale (=Division of Colonial Infantry). The Serbian Šumadija Division I, routed the Bulgarians occupying the line Golo Bilo-Preslap.
1942: The US aircraft carrier USS "Wasp" (CV-7), while escorting transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal was struck by three torpedoes fired by a Japanese submarine. All three struck in the vicinity of the gasoline tanks and magazines, causing additional explosions and fires. Having expended great effort but unsuccessful in containing the fires, her CO, Captain Forrest Sherman gave the order to abandon ship at 15:20 hours. She sank by the bow at 21:00 hours.
1950: During the Korean War, United States forces land at Incheon. At 06:33 hours, following an intense air, rocket and naval gunfire bombardment, landing craft carrying the first wave of Marines from the 3rd Battalion Landing Team (BLT,) 5th Marine Regiment, reached Green Beach located on the north arm of Wolmi-do and the first amphibious assault by American forces against an enemy since 1 April 1945 at Okinawa was underway. The initial landing was unopposed and the Marines quickly moved inland against scattered and very light resistance.
09-18-2010, 05:51 AM
324: The final and decisive battle of the second civil war between Licinius and Constantine took place in Asia Minor on 18 September 324. The Βattle of Chrysopolis was a rout and Licinius abdicated his throne. After his conquest of the eastern portion of the Roman Empire, Constantine made the momentous decision to give the east its own capital, and the empire as a whole its second. He chose the city of Byzantium - renamed New Rome/Constantinople - as the site of this new foundation. The battle also opened the prisons throughout the east, and set free all who were suffering for their Christian faith.
1454: During the Thirteen Years' War, the Battle of Konitz occurs. The Teutonic army with around 9,000 horse and 6,000 infantry under Bernard von Zinnenberg, routed the Polish army comprised 16,000 horse, 3,000 infantry under the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon. The Polish defeat was complete. 3,000 bodies lied in the battlefield, 300 knights were captured by Teutons. The Teutonic Knights lost only around 100 men.
The large cross that marks the hill where a mass grave with the remains of 2,000 warriors who had died in the battle of Konitz was discovered in 1826
1573: During the Eighty Years' War, the Siege of the Dutch city of Alkmaar begins. Alkmaar successfully withstood a siege by Spanish forces under the leadership of Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba. It was a turning point in the war and gave rise to the Dutch expression Bij Alkmaar begint de victorie (=Victory begins at Alkmaar). The event is still celebrated every year in Alkmaar on 8 October, the day the siege ended.
1759: Shortly after their victory at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the British capture Québec City.
1812: The 1812 Fire of Moscow dies down after destroying more than three quarters of the city. Napoleon returns from the Petrovsky Palace to the Moscow Kremlin, spared from the fire.
1898: The Fashoda Incident, occurs. A powerful flotilla of British gunboats arrived at the isolated Fashoda fort, East Africa, led by Sir Herbert Kitchener. There they met the French of Major Jean-Baptiste Marchand who had already reached Fashoda in June with orders to secure the area around it as a French protectorate. The incident brought the United Kingdom and France to the verge of war.
French Major Marchand at Fashoda
WWI-1918: The two-day Battle of Dojran begins. The British XII and XVI Corps supported by the Greek Serræ and Cretan Divisions and the Greek 3rd Cavalry Regiment, under the British Field Marshal Sir John Milne, 1st Baron Milne, assaulted the Bulgarian positions near the Lake Dojran. The Allies suffered huge casualties due to their advance on open terrain against Bulgarian fortified positions: They were caught in a crossfire coming from the slopes and machine gun fire coming from the bunkers on the hills. The Allies lost about 14,000 soldiers (4,000 Greeks). The Bulgarians suffered 2,000 killed and wounded; 1,008 made prisoners.
The Bulgarian General Vladimir Minchev - Vazov. He managed to hold the Dojran line against the greatly superior British and Greek forces outnumbering him 5:1. The British paid great honour to General Vazov when he visited London in 1936, as they lowered their national flags in his name. The chairman of the Royal British Legion said in his speech: He is one of the few foreign officers whose name features in our history
1931: Near Mukden (now Shenyang) in southern Manchuria, a section of railroad owned by Japan's South Manchuria Railway was sabotaged. The Imperial Japanese Army, accused Chinese dissidents of the act and responded with the invasion of Manchuria, leading to the establishment of Manchukuo the following year. This Mukden Incident represented an early event in the Second Sino-Japanese War, although full-scale war would not start until 1937. While the responsibility for this act of sabotage remains a subject of controversy, the prevailing view is that Japanese militarists staged the explosion in order to provide a pretext for war.
The Memorial to the Incident in Shenyang, China
1940: Following the Italian Invasion of Egypt on 9 September with five army corps (XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII) and the newly created Gruppo Divisioni Libiche (=Group of Libyan Divisions) under the overall command of Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, the Italian Divisione CC.NN. "23 Marzo" (Blackshirt Division "23 March") of the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (=National Security Volunteer Militia) takes Sid Barani.
1944: The US Ninth Army (Lt. Gen. Simpson) finally takes Brest after a long struggle.
1944: British Submarine HMS "Tradewind" (P329) (Lt. Cdr. Stephen Lynch Conway Maydonof) sinks the Japanese army cargo ship Jun'yo Maru which was headed for Sumatra. She was carrying 4,200 Javanese slave labourers and 2,300 Allied prisoners of war from Batavia to Padang. 5,620 lives were lost in the sinking.
1947: The United States Air Force becomes an independent branch of the United States armed forces.
1948: Communist uprising during the Indonesian National Revolution in the town of Madiun. An Indonesian Soviet Republic was declared in Madiun, in the western part of East Java, by members of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) and the Indonesian Socialist Party (PSI). It was quashed by Republican forces.
09-20-2010, 06:30 AM
451: During the Hunnic invasion of Gaul the Battle of Chalons (near today's Châlons-en-Champagne in France) occurs. A coalition army of some 30,000 men led by the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I defeated a 30,000-strong army of the Huns and their allies commanded by Attila. Attila's retreat across the Rhine confessed the last victory which was achieved in the name of the Western Roman Empire. The battle marks the apex of the career of Flavius Aetius.
1187: The Siege of Jerusalem by an Ayyubid army under Saladin begins. It resulted in the recapture of Jerusalem by Saladin on 2 October and the near total collapse of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
1792: During the War of the First Coalition, the Battle of Valmy occurs. A 47,000-strong French army under Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez and François Christophe de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy, defeated a combined invading force of some 35,000 men comprised Prussians, Austrians, Hessians and French Royalists, under Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the Prince Friedrich William, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Kirchberg, the Walloon François Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt and the Prince of Condé, Louis Joseph de Bourbon. Despite the minimal casualties (fewer than 500 total) the battle of Valmy was really the first victory of a European army inspired by citizenship and nationalism, and marked the end of the era of absolute monarchy. The day after this first victory of the French revolutionary troops, on 21 September, in Paris, the French monarchy was abolished and the First French Republic proclaimed.
1854: During the Crimean War, the Battle of Alma, the first battle of the War occurs. A 54,000-strong Anglo-French army with 132 guns, under the French General Armand-Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud and the British General FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, defeated General Aleksandr Sergeyevich Menshikov's Russian army comprised 33,000 infantry, 3,400 cavalry with 120 guns, south of the River Alma in the Crimea. Eventually the Russian retreat became a rout. The Russians lost 5,709 killed and wounded. The British lost 2,002 and the French 1,340 killed or wounded.
1870: During the Italian Unification (Risorgimento, the Resurgence) the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy captured the Vatican, thus ending the millennial temporal rule of the popes over central Italy and allowed Rome to be designated the capital of the new nation. For the next 59 years, beginning with Pope Pius IX, the popes refused to leave the Vatican in order to avoid any appearance of accepting the authority wielded by the Italian government over Rome as a whole. They were the prigionieri del Vaticano (=prisoners of the Vatican)
1939: German troops in eastern Poland withdraw to the line agreed upon in the German-Soviet treaty. The Red Army moves in behind them to occupy the formerly Russian territory. The Battle of Grodno between Polish troops and Red Army begins. The Poles inflict 800 Red Army casualties (Soviet counts: 220) and destroy ten tanks, whilst defending the city.
1942: In the Jewish ghetto of Letychiv, Ukraine, established to assist Organisation Todt in providing human labor for the road building project, three separate mass shootings of Jews occurred on 20 and 21 September 1942 where 3,000 Jews were killed (almost half the ghetto) by the Einsatzgruppen.
1943: The British 8th Army occupies Bari in southern Italy. The allies also bomb Venice.
1944: British armoured forces of XXX Corps link up with the US paratroops of the 82nd Division at Nijmegen, capturing the bridge intact.
1970: During Black September, Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.
1984: Hezbollah suicide bomber attacks US Embassy in Beirut killing twenty-two people.
09-21-2010, 05:08 AM
1217: During the Livonian Crusade (the German and Danish conquest and colonization of medieval Livonia, the territory constituting modern Latvia and Estonia), the Battle of St. Matthew's Day occurs. A 3,000-strong combined army of Livonians, Lettigallians and German Crusaders of the military order of Schwertbrüderorden (=Order of the Brethren of the Sword) commanded by the Master of the Order, Volkewîn, defeated the 6,000 Estonians under Lembit of Lehola who attempted to unite the Estonians in order to withstand the German conquest. Estonian casualties numbered from 1,000 - 1,400 (including Lembit).
The Memorial to the battle
1745: During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Prestonpans, fought near Edinburgh, in Scotland, occurs. A 2,500-strong Jacobite army loyal to the old pretender to the English, Scottish and Irish thrones, James Francis Edward Stuart, led by his son, Charles Edward Stuart, defeated a 2,300-strong army loyal to the Hanoverian George II, led by Sir John Cope. The battle was over in less than 10 minutes with hundreds of government troops killed or wounded and 1,500 taken prisoner.
Hey, Johnnie Cope, are ye waking yet?, a Scottish folk song, written by Adam Skirving, gives an account from the Jacobite viewpoint of the Battle of Prestonpans
1860: During the Second Opium War (a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856–1860), an Anglo-French force of 10,000 under Sir James Hope Grant and Charles Guillaume Marie Appollinaire Antoine Cousin Montauban, who would later become comte de Palikao, defeats 30,000 Chinese troops under the Mongol nobleman and General Sengge Rinchen at the Battle of Baliqiao (or Palikao). British and French sources estimated Chinese losses as 25,000 men.
1896: The Sirdar (=British Commander-in-Chief) of the Anglo-Egyptian army, Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, defeated the revolted Sudanese Mahdists and took Dongola in northern Sudan.
1942: The inter-allied information committee estimates that the Germans have so far, executed 207,373 people in occupied Europe.
Greek (http://i52.*******.com/flaaf5dotjpg) and Soviet Partisans executed by the Germans (http://i54.*******.com/10n555xdotjpg)
1944: Polish paratroopers land between Arnhem and Nijmegen as the British force at Arnhem bridge is overwhelmed. Autumn rains impede the allied advance as the US 85th Division takes Firenzwold.
Sosabowski's Polish Paras of the 1st Independent Parachute Brigade
Maj. Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski
1944: The British Eighth Army’s, III Greek Mountain Brigade (Colonel Thrasybulus Tsakalotos) takes the Italian town of Rimini on the Adriatic coast. The 2nd Greek Battalion (1 Company under 1st Lieutenant Constantine Gerakines, 3 Company under 1st Lt Georgios Beligiannes) reached the city center via the Ausa River. The Greek flags that were flying from the balcony of the municipal building signalled a success won by 13 days of rugged fighting against elements of both the 1. Fallschirmjäger-Division and the 162.Turkestanisch Infanterie Division, at a cost of 128 Greeks. At 07:45 hours, the mayor unconditionaly surrendered the city to the III Greek Mountain Brigade with an official protocol that was written in Greek, English and Italian.
On the same day, the German forces of Heeresgruppe E (=Army Group E) (Generaloberst Löhr) evacuate the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece.
The CO of III Greek Mountain Brigade, Colonel Thrasybulus Tsakalotos
The crest of the current Greek III Mechanised Brigade with the honorific title "Rimini" ("ΡΙΜΙΝΙ" in Greek); Motto: Virtue is a weapon no one can ablate (a philosopher Antisthenes' teaching)
1964: The North American XB-70 Valkyrie, the world's first Mach 3 bomber, makes its maiden flight from Palmdale, California.
09-22-2010, 05:42 AM
1236: During the Livonian Crusade, the Battle of Saule, fought probably near today's Šiauliai in Lithuania, occurs. A 3,000-strong Crusader army of Livonians, Rus from the Pskov Republic and Knights from the Order of the Brethren of the Sword, under the overall command of the Order's Master Volkewîn, were defeated by the 4 or 5,000 Lithuanians, Samogitians and Semigallians of the Duke of Samogitia, Vykintas. Some 50 to 60 knights were killed, including their Livonian Master, Volkewîn and 2,700 Livonians and Rus. The battle inspired Curonians, Semigallians, Selonians and other Baltic tribes previously conquered by the Brethren of the Sword, to rebel.
Latvian folk-metal band Skyforger wrote a song Kauja pie Saules (=Battle of Saule), found on an eponymous album, about the battle
1586: During the Eighty Years' War, the Battle of Zutphen occurs. It was fought between a 17,000-strong combined force from the United Provinces of the Netherlands and England, under the English nobleman Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, and the 25,500 Spaniards who sought to regain the northern Netherlands. The battle was won by the Spanish.
1789: During the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792, the Battle of Rymnik occurs. It was fought in Wallachia (today's Romania) near the town of Rymnik (now Râmnicu Sărat). The combined forces (ca 25,000) of Russia and Habsburg Empire under the command of the Russian General Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, acting together with the Habsburg General, Prince Friedrich Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, defeated the 60,000 Ottomans under Koca Yusuf Pasha. For this victory, Suvorov was awarded the title of Count of Rymnik. The victory resulted in the retreat of Ottoman forces from the Danubian Principalities.
The conqueror of Rymnik, Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov
1866: During the War of the Triple Alliance (a military conflict in South America fought from 1864 to 1870 between Paraguay and the allied countries of Argentina, Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay), the Battle of Curupaity occurs. A joint force of the Imperial (Brazilian), Argentine and Uruguayan armies numbering some 20,000 men, under the Argentine Bartolomé Mitre Martinez, attacked the 5,000 Paraguayans defending the trenches on Curupaity under José Eduvigis Díaz. 4,000 of the 20,000 allied (Brazilian and Argentine) troops involved in the attack were lost. Paraguayan losses accounted for 92 killed or wounded.
The Curupaity March, a composition of the Uruguayan musician, nationalized Argentine, Cayetano Alberto Silva
1908: Prince (later Tsar) Ferdinand I of Bulgaria, proclaims Bulgaria's de jure Independence (Bulgaria since 1878 had been de facto an autonomous principality) in the church of Saints Forty Martyrs, in the town of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria, the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
The ancient Orthodox Church of Saints Forty Martyrs (built in 1230) in Veliko Tarnovo
Knyaz (=Prince) Ferdinand, proclaiming Bulgaria's Independence in Veliko Tarnovo
1939: Germany and USSR agree on partition of Poland. 217,000 Polish troops who are fighting against the Red Army surrender at Lvov. The NKVD begins rounding up thousands of Polish officers and deporting them to Russia. A Polish regiment repels attacks by forty Soviet tanks and infantry units at the Battle of Kodziowce. Soviet losses amount to hundreds killed and twenty tanks destroyed. Joint victory parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest-Litovsk.
1941: On Jewish New Year Day, the members of Einsatzgruppe massacre the last 6,000 Jews in Vinnytsya, Ukraine.
28,000 Jews were massacred in Vinnytsya (http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/7536/22vinnitsadotjpg)
1942: Five members of the PEAN (Panhellenic Union of Fighting Greeks) resistance group, Constantine Perrikos, a former Air Force officer, the electrician Antonios Mytilenæos, the Law students Spyridon Galates and Nikolaos Lazares, and the teacher Julia Bimbas, planted a home-made bomb in the basement of the building in downtown Athens, housing the National-Socialists of ESPO (National-Socialist Patriotic Organization) a pro-Nazi group headed by the doctor Spyridon Sterodemos, that at the time recruited Greeks in order to form a SS Greek Legion. The bomb exploded at 12:30 killing 29 ESPO members and 48 German officers. The 37-year old Perrikos was captured and put before the firing squad on 4 February 1943. Bimbas was captured also and she was killed by decapitation. Lazares joined Napoleon Zervas' EDES (=National Republican Greek League) partisans. Mytilenæos managed to escape to Egypt.
Flying Officer, Constantine Perrikos
1943: The British 78th Division (Maj. Gen. D.C.Butterworth) begins landings at Bari on the SE coast of Italy.
The 78th Infantry Division was known as the Battleaxe Division
1944: The British Second Army (Lt. Gen. Dempsey) is now five miles North of Nijmegen, but still six miles from Arnhem. The US First Army (Lt. Gen. Hodges) halts its offensive West of Aachen. German troops holding out in the port city of Boulogne finally surrender to Canadian forces.
German soldiers surrendering to the 31st Field Company, Royal Canadian Engineers (R.C.E.) Boulogne, France - wwii.ca/photos/
1944: The Soviets take Tallinn, the capital of Estonia.
1965: The Indo-Pakistani War (also known as the Second Kashmir War) between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, ends after the UN calls for a cease-fire. India suffered 3,000 killed or wounded, at least 175 tanks destroyed, 60–75 aircraft lost. Pakistan suffered 3,800 killed or wounded, 200 tanks destroyed, 20-73 aircraft lost. Strategic miscalculations by both India and Pakistan ensured that the war ended in a stalemate.
1980: Iraq invades Iran, launching a simultaneous invasion by air and land into Iranian territory, thus opening a 8-year War that claimed the lives of at least a million people.
1993: A Transair Georgian Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 flying from Tbilisi (and reportedly carrying Georgian soldiers) was shot down while attempting to land at the Sukhumi airport and crashed on the runway, killing 108 of the 132 people on board.
2006: The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is retired from the United States Navy.
09-23-2010, 05:41 AM
1409: During the Sino-Mongol War, fought between Ming China and Mongolia, the Battle of the Kherlen Gol (=River) occurs. Hundreds of thousands of Mongolians and Ming Chinese fought at the banks of Kherlen River for the control of Mongolia. The Ming army was completely routed and defeated.
1459: During the Wars of the Roses the Battle of Blore Heath, the first major battle in the English Wars of the Roses occurs. On Saint Thecla's Day, a Lancastrian force of some 6 - 12,000 men under James Touchet, 5th Baron Audley and John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley, was defeated by a Yorkist army of some 3 - 6,000 men under Richard Neville, jure uxoris (=by right of his wife) 5th Earl of Salisbury. It is believed that at least 3,000 men died in the battle, with at least 2,000 of these from the Lancastrian side. Audley himself was killed and buried in Darley Abbey in Derbyshire.
The battle is commemorated by a re-enactment each year in September at Blore Heath
1779: During the American War of Independence, the Naval Battle of Flamborough Head, fought in the North Sea, off the coast of Yorkshire, England, occurs. An American Continental Navy squadron led by John Paul Jones comprised five warships, attacked and defeated two British escort vessels protecting a large merchant convoy. Despite its relatively small size, it became one of the most celebrated naval actions of the American Revolutionary War.
Captain John Paul Jones
1803: During the Second Anglo-Maratha War (fought between the Indian Maratha Empire and the British East India Company from 1803 - 1805) the Battle of Assaye occurs. 50,000 Marathas under the Hanoverian Colonel Anthony Pohlmann, were defeated by the ca 10,000 men of East India Company and British Army under the 34-year old Major General, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. East India Company and British Army casualties amounted to 428 killed, 1,138 wounded and 18 missing. Approximately 6,000 Maratha were killed and wounded. The battle was the Duke of Wellington's first major victory and one he later described as his finest accomplishment on the battlefield.
1821: During the Greek War for Independence, the biggest town in the Peloponnese and administrative centre for Ottoman rule, Tripolitsá (now Tripolis) falls to an army of 10,000 Greeks under General Theodoros Kolokotrones, after several months of siege. About 30,000 Turks were massacred in Tripolitsá, including its entire Jewish population (the massacre of Jews is considered more of a tragic side-effect by most historians, than a specific action against Jews per se). For the massacre, Kolokotrones writes in his memoirs: Tripolitsá was three miles in circumference. The host which entered it, cut down and were slaying men, women, and children from Friday until Sunday. Thirty-two thousand were reported to have been slain. One Hydran boasted that he had killed ninety.. My horse from the walls to the Saray (=Palace) never touched the earth.
1941: Professor of History, Comnenus Pyromáglu arrives amidst secrecy in occupied Athens from Paris and organizes with the former Army Colonel Napoléon Zervas, the National Republican Greek League (EDES) resistance group. EDES acted mostly in Epirus, against the German and Italian occupation forces under orders of the Greek government in exile and the Allied Middle East Command (General Sir Claude Auchinleck).
Colonel Napoléon Zervas, EDES' leader
EDES' co-founder, Professor Comnenus Pyromáglu
1943: Following Mussolini's liberation, the Repubblica Sociale Italiana (=Italian Social Republic) a Nazi-Germany's puppet state, with its capital in Salò, a small town on Lake Garda, in Northern Italy, is proclaimed.
09-24-2010, 05:43 AM
1645: During the English Civil War, the Battle of Rowton Heath occurs. A Parliamentarian force of 3,000 foot, 300 musketeers, under Colonel-General Sydenham Poyntz, defeated the 3,000 Royalists of Sir Marmaduke Langdale, 1st Baron Langdale and the 22-year old, Lord Bernard Stewart, a Scottish aristocrat who served as a Royalist commander. Stewart was killed, together with 600 royalists while 800 made prisoners.
1877: During the Satsuma Rebellion (a revolt of Satsuma ex-samurai against the Meiji government from 29 January, 1877 to 24 September, 1877) the Battle of Shiroyama occurs. On the night of 24 - 25 September, 30,000 troops of the Imperial Japanese Army under the Prince Yamagata Kyosuke assaulted the hill of Shiroyama, occupied by a force of ca 400 - 500 Satsuma Samurai under Saigo Takamori. For a short time Saigo's lines held, but was forced back due to weight of numbers. By 06:00 hours, only 40 rebels were still alive. Takamori was mortally wounded in the femoral artery and stomach.
Takamori's statue in Kagoshima, Japan
1939: 1,150 German planes bomb Warsaw. German Special Task Force troops execute 800 Polish intellectuals and leaders in Bydgoszcz.
1942: Greek Submarine RHNS "Nereus" (Y4) (Lt. Cdr. Alexandros Ralles) sinks off the island of Syme, the Italian Liner Fiume (1,100 tons) which was headed for Rhodes. She was carrying 249 Italian officers and other ranks, an Ansaldo 76/40 M1917 gun and 150 Greek workers. 326 lives were lost in the sinking.
1944: The British Second Army (Lt. Gen. Dempsey) reaches the Lower Rhine in force. The British paratroops at Arnhem are now under severe pressure. British troops cross the German border to the Southeast of Nijmegen. The US Third Army's (Gen. Patton) Moselle bridgeheads to the South of Metz are sealed off by the Germans.
09-26-2010, 05:18 AM
1687: The Parthenon, the temple in the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, is partially destroyed by an explosion caused by the bombing from Venetian forces led by the Venetian Doge and General Francesco Morosini who are besieging the Ottoman Turks stationed in Athens.
WWI-1918: The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the bloodiest single battle in American history, begins. The US I Corps (77th, 28th and 35th Divisions under French command; in the the final phases of the Meuse-Argonne offensive under Lt. Gen. Hunter Liggett), V Corps (91st, 37th and 79th Divisions under Maj. Gen. Charles Pelot Summerall), III Corps (4th, 80th and 33rd Divisions), and the French Fourth (General Henri Gouraud) and Fifth (General Henri Mathias Berthelot) Armies commenced advancing against the German Fifth (General Johannes Georg von der Marwitz) Army's defence line in order to breach the Hindenburg line and ultimately force the opposing German forces to capitulate. The battle ended on Armistice day (11 November, 1918). Allied losses were severe. The US suffered ca 117,000 killed and wounded, while the French lost approximately 70,000 troops. The Germans suffered ca 190,000 killed and wounded.
1943: Greek Destroyer RHNS "Vasilissa Olga" (Queen Olga) (D-15) was sunk during a German air attack carried out by 25 Junkers Ju 88 while anchored in Lakki bay of Leros island after the capitulation of Italy. Her CO Lt. Cdr. Georgios Blessas, 6 officers and 63 petty officers and other ranks were lost.
The Queen Olga is sinking
The signal informing the Navy HQ in Alexandria about Queen Olga's loss. It reads: Destroyer Queen Olga sunk in Leros harbour at 10:14 26/9/43
1943: British Destroyer HMS "Intrepid" (D-10) (Cdr. Charles Arthur de Winton Kitcat) was sunk during a German air attack carried out by 25 Junkers Ju 88 while anchored in Lakki bay of Leros island.
1944: III Greek Mountain Brigade's 1st Battalion (Major Ioannes Karavías) relieves the 24th New Zealand Battalion (it would go into reserve) and becomes the first allied unit that crosses the Rubicon River in NE Italy: At 06:30 hours after a quick but intense firefight takes the town of Bellaria, near Cesena.
Greeks of the III Mountain Brigade. It comprised 205 Officers, 89 WO, 3,083 other ranks
The III Greek Mountain Brigade's crest in WWII
1944: The Brazilian 1ª Divisão de Infantaria Expedicionária - 1ª DIE (=1st Expeditionary Infantry Division) (Gen. João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais), on the central front of the Gothic Line, controls the Serchio valley region, after ten days of rugged fighting at a cost of 290 killed or wounded.
Brazilian troops of the 1ª DIE enter an Italian town
1944: The Caserta Agreement is signed in Caserta, Italy, between the Greek Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou, the British Minister Resident in the Mediterranean (representative to the Allies in the Mediterranean) Harold MacMillan, the C-in-C Middle East, General Henry Maitland Wilson, the EDES' (=National Republican Greek League) leader Colonel Napoléon Zervas, and the ELAS' (=Greek People's Liberation Army) leader Gen. Stephanos Saraphes. According to it, "...all resistance forces in Greece were placed under the command of a British officer, Lt. Gen. Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie".
Saraphes (left), Scobie, Zervas
1950: United Nations 1st Cavalry Division Task Force 777, enters Seoul, South Korea, shortly after dark. The city was full of North Korean soldiers, most wandering aimless around. None fired on the American unit, led by tank platoon from the 70th Tank Battalion.
09-29-2010, 05:40 AM
480 BC: During the Second Persian invasion of Greece, the Naval Battle of Salamís occurs. A joint Greek fleet of ca 366 - 378 triremes from Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Megara, Croton (from S. Italy) and other Greek minor city-states, under the overall command of the Athenian Stratēgós (=Army leader, general) Themistocles, but nominally led by the Spartan Návarchos (=Ship leader, admiral), Eurybiades, defeated the Persian Achæmenid fleet of some 600 - 800 warships (triremes mostly) led by the eldest brother of Persian King Xerxes I, Ariabignes (or Ariamenes according to Plutarch). The Persian fleet sailed into the Straits of Salamís and tried to block both entrances. In the cramped conditions of the Straits the great Persian numbers were an active hindrance, as ships struggled to maneuver and became disorganised. Seizing the opportunity, the Greek fleet formed in line and scored a decisive victory, sinking or capturing at least 200 Persian ships. Ariabignes died in the battle.
480 BC: During the Greco-Punic Wars (a series of conflicts fought between the Carthaginians and the Greeks headed by Syracusans, over control of Sicily and western Mediterranean from 7th - 3rd c. BC), the Battle of Himéra occurs. A 50,000-strong, according to modern estimates, (according to Herodotus' account, 300,000) Carthaginian army comprised Iberians, Libyans, Carthaginians and Libyo-Phœnecians, with Gaullic and Sardinian cavalry, under General Hamilcar, the son of Hanno, invaded Sicily and marched along the coast in order to capture the city of Himéra. The Greeks fielded a few tens of thousands (Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus give 50,000) hoplites, mostly from the major Greek city in Sicily, Syracuse, but also hired mercenaries from Greece and local Sicels and Sikans, under the overall command of the Tyrant (=Ruler) of Syracuse, Gelo, acting together with the Tyrant of Acragas (today's Agrigento in Sicily), Theron. About half of the Carthaginian army and majority of the fleet was destroyed, numerous prisoners and rich booty had fallen into Greek hands. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus comments that "..the surviving Carthaginian ships were sunk in a storm on their return journey to Africa".
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On December 18, 2008 archeologists uncovered the mass graves of more than 10,000 soldiers holding the remains of 5th century B.C. soldiers near the site of the ancient Greek city of Himéra during the construction of a railway extension, on the island of Sicily: news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081217-himera-mass-grave.html
1364: During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Auray occurs. A 3,500-strong Anglo-Breton army, comprised English and Bretons led by Jean V the Conqueror, Duc de Montfort, assisted by Sir John Chandos, Viscount of Saint-Sauveur, defeated a 4,000-strong Franco-Breton army, under Charles of Blois. In the battle, the troops of Charles of Blois broke and fled and he was killed.
1848: During the Hungarian Revolution (the revolution in the Kingdom of Hungary that grew into a war for independence from Habsburg rule) the Battle of Pákozd occurs. Lt. Gen. János Móga in command of 27,000 Hungarians with 82 cannon, fought and defeated the Habsburg army, numbering from 35 - 40,000 men under Croatian Ban (=Ruler), Count Josip Jelačić of Bužim. Although the Battle of Pákozd was one of the smaller of the Revolution, its consequences were very important. The battle became an icon for the Hungarian army because of its influence on politics and morale.
The victor, János Móga
1911: The claims of Italy over Ottoman Libya, lead Italy to formally Declare War against Ottoman Empire on 29 September, although the Italian fleet appeared off Tripoli, Libya, on the previous evening (28 September, 1911).
WWI-1918: Following the breach on the Salonika front occured on 15 September, Bulgaria capitulated and concluded armistice negotiations with the Allies. The Armistice with Bulgaria was signed at the Bulgaria Armistice Convention in Thessaloniki, Greece, between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and the Allied Powers.
The Allied Military Cemetery in Thessaloniki, Greece. 21,000 allied soldiers killed in the Salonika Front (French, Italian, British and Russian) repose there; 7,000 of them are Serbs
1932: During the Chaco War (fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region from 1932 - 1935) the Battle of Boquerón ends (it opened on 7 September). A Bolivian army of ca 1,000 men, reinforced by a cavalry regiment and three infantry regiments as the battle progressed (totalling 4,000 troops), under Lt. Col. Manuel Marzana, was decisively defeated by the 14,000 Paraguayan troops under Col. José Félix Estigarribia Insaurralde. Bolivia suffered 1,000 dead or wounded, 800 made prisoners. Paraguay lost ca 1,500 - 2,000 dead or wounded.
1939: Poland formally surrenders. Polish Armed Forces suffered 66,000 dead, 133,700 wounded, 694,000 captured in their desparate 28-day, two-front struggle.
1941: The SS Einsatzgruppen operating in the Ukraine, massacre between 50,000 and 96,000 Ukranians (of which 33,771 are Jews), at Babi Yar, a ravine about 30 miles outside of Kiev.
The Babi Yar memorial in Kyiv, Ukraine
1941: During the night of 28 - 29 September, an insurrection against the Bulgarian occupation troops occured in the town of Doxáto, Drama Prefecture, Greece. The local police station in the town was attacked, leading to the death of 6 - 7 Bulgarian policemen. Although those who participated in the insurrection were killed or fled to the mountains, reprisals were harsh. The next day, Bulgarian forces rounded up all the men in town aged 14 and over, and after dividing them into groups of ten, executed them on the night of 29 September, 1941. 200 men were massacred.
The Memorial to the massacre in Doxáto
1990: The YF-22, which would later become the F-22 Raptor, flies for the first time.
09-30-2010, 05:04 AM
1744: During the War of the Austrian Succession, the Battle of Cuneo, fought on the outskirts of Cuneo in Piedmont, occurs. A combined Hispano-French force of some 26,000 soldiers under Louis François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, defeated a Sardinian army under the Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia, Charles Emmanuel III. Out of a total number of 25,000, the King of Sardinia lost 4,400 men, whilst the Bourbon losses were a little over half their enemies at 2,700 men killed or wounded.
The conqueror of Cuneo, Louis François de Bourbon
1938: The Munich Aggreement is signed by the UK, France, Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. It permitted Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.
1941: The German strategic offensive named Operation Typhoon begins, when Guderian's Panzergruppe 2 opens its offensive against Moscow, 2 days ahead of the rest of Heeresgruppe Mitte (=Army Group Centre) (von Bock) and makes 80 km (50 miles) in its advance towards Orel.
Generaloberst Heinz Guderian; USSR autumn 1941
1943: On the eve of the Jewish New Year, the Gestapo and Danish Nazis begin rounding up all Danish Jews. However, a large number of Danish Jews had been saved when the anti-nazi politician Hans Hedtoft got wind of the German plan and passed the details to the Danish resistance who, with the help of Danish fishermen ferried many Jews to neutral Sweden.
The Danish resistance movement as a collective effort, rather than as individuals, has been honoured at Yad Vashem in Israel as being part of the Righteous Among the Nations
1944: The 7,500 strong Calais garrison surrenders to the First Canadian Army (General H.D.G. Crerar). Rejoicing in the streets of Dover at the announcement that the last of the German cross-channel guns, which have pounded the southeast coast of Britain for three years, have been silenced.
1954: The U.S. Navy submarine USS "Nautilus" ((SSN-571) is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel.
1975: The Hughes (later McDonnell-Douglas, now Boeing) AH-64 Apache makes its first flight.
10-02-2010, 05:33 AM
1187: Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin recaptures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule, following Balian of Ibelin's surrender (Ibelin was a a castle in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem). The fall of Jerusalem, provoked the Third Crusade by providing it with its principal goal: The return of Jerusalem to Christendom a second time.
1263: During the Scottish-Norwegian War, the Battle of Largs (present day Largs in North Ayrshire, Scotland) occurs. It was the most important military engagement of the war. The Norwegian forces were led by King Håkon Håkonsson the Old and the Scottish forces by King Alaxandair III mac Alaxandair. The result was inconclusive, but in the long term favoured the Scots.
1552: During the War between Muscovite Russia and the Tatar Khanate of Kazan, the siege of Kazan, the final battle of the war occurs. The 150,000 Muscovite army under Ivan IV the Terrible besieged Kazan and on 2 October the Russians entered the city. The civil population as well as Kazan's army (totalling 80 - 85,000 men) opposed them. The city was totally sacked and burned. Dozens of thousands of Tatars killed, both civilians and garrison, and 60,000 - 100,000 Russians who had been kept captive in khanate were released.
The conqueror of Kazan, Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible
1814: During the Chilean War of Independence, the Battle of Rancagua occurs. A 1,200-strong Spanish Royalist army under the Seville born, Spanish General Mariano de Osorio, defeated the 600 Chilean Revolutionaries under the Chilean patriot Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme. The Chilean force retreated with heavy losses.
The victor, Don Mariano de Osorio
1835: During the Texas War of Independence, the Battle of Gonzales, the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution occurs. Up to 140 Texians under John Henry Moore, one of the Old Three Hundred (=the first Anglo settlers who received land grants along the rich bottomlands of the Brazos, Colorado, and San Bernard rivers) fought a Mexican force of ca 100 cavalry under Lt. Francisco de Castañeda. Castañeda was sent by Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea to retrieve a cannon lent to the citizens of Gonzales in 1831 for their defence. The citizens of Gonzales refused to relinquish the Gonzales cannon, and the battle of Gonzales resulted.
The Come and Take It flag flown by Texians
1939: The first Poles are imprisoned in Pawiak Prison in Warsaw. Some 100,000 people will undergo Nazi interrogations here, of whom 37,000 will be executed and 60,000 sent to concentration camps.
The infamous Pawiak Prison
1941: Heeresgruppe Mitte (=Army Group Centre) (von Bock) launches Operation Typhoon, the main offensive towards Moscow with one million men, 1,700 tanks, 14,000 artillery pieces, 549 aircraft. Heeresgruppe Süd (=Army Group South) (von Rundstedt) begins an advance against Kursk and Kharkov.
Soviet documentary for the Battle of Moscow with English subtitles
1943: The British 2nd Special Service Brigade (Bgd. Ronald John Frederick "Ronnie" Tod) lands at Termoli on East coast of Italy and links up with troops moving North from Foggia.
1944: Warsaw falls to the Germans after 63-day siege, with the Polish Home Army surrendering only after all its food and ammunition had run out. The Germans recognise their valour and treat the survivors not as partisans, but as regular POW.
1950: During the Korean War, General MacArthur issues United Nations Command Operations Order 2 which is the plan to order for U.N. forces to cross into North Korea. ROKA troops are already 30 to 50 km (20 to 30 miles) north of the 38th Parallel on the east coast at this time.
10-03-2010, 06:24 AM
52 BC: During the Gallic Wars, the Siege of Alesia (today's Alise-Sainte-Rein), a major town centre and fort of the confederation of Gaullic tribes, named Mandubii, who lived in the areas of modern-day Bourgogne and Jura in France, ended with the Gallic leader Vercingetorix surrendering to Gaius Julius Cæsar. The country was then subdued, becoming a Roman province. Vercingetorix was taken prisoner, exhibited at Cæsar's triumph and most likely executed.
Vercingetorix's statue in Alise-Sainte-Rein
42 BC: During the Wars of the Second Triumvirate (Roman Civil Wars fought by the forces of Marcus Antonius and Octavian against the forces of Cæsar's assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus) the First Battle of Philippoi (today's Philippi, Eastern Macedonia, Greece) occurs. The Triumvirs' army of nineteen legions and 33,000 horse (total over 100,000 men) under Octavian and Marcus Antonius decisively defeated the forces of Cæsar's assassins numbering some 100,000 men (seventeen legions, 17,000 horse) under Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus. The battle ended in a draw: Cassius lost 9,000 men, while Octavian had about 18,000 casualties. Cassius believing that he had suffered a crushing defeat, committed suicide.
The battlefield, as seen from the Acropolis of Philippi
1935: Mussolini's Italy invades Ethiopia. The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa.
1943: On the night of 3 October, Germans invade the Greek island of Kos in the Dodekanese, with the assistance of massive air support. German paratroopers landed in and around the airfield at Antimachia. The island was defended by the men of the 1st Durham Light Infantry (Colonel John Kirby) arrived on 16 September. The 1st DLI were almost wiped out on Kos with only some 60 men managing to escape.
The Athens Memorial stands within Phaleron War Cemetery and commemorates nearly 3,000 members of the land forces of the Commonwealth who lost their lives during the campaigns in Greece and Crete and the Dodecanese Islands including those of the 1st Durham Light Infantry who were killed on the island of Kos 1943
1951: During the Korean War, the First Battle of Maryang San occurs, pitting Australian and British forces against communist China. It ended 5 days later. The 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (Lt. Col. Francis George "Frank" Hassett) dislodged a numerically superior Chinese force from the tactically important Kowang-San (Hill 355) and Maryang San (Hill 317) features, in conjunction with other units of the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade.
1952: Operation Hurricane was the test of the first British atomic device. A plutonium implosion device was detonated in the lagoon between the Montebello Islands, Western Australia.
1990: German Unity Day: The German Democratic Republic ceases to exist and its territory becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
1993: During Operation Gothic Serpent (a military operation conducted by special operations forces of the United States with the primary mission of capturing Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Mogadishu, Somalia), the Battle of Mogadishu occurs. It was fought on 3 and 4 October, 1993, in Mogadishu, Somalia, by forces of the United States supported by UNOSOM II against Somali militia fighters loyal to warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid, with support from armed civilian fighters. 18 US Soldiers and hundreds of Somalis were killed in heavy fighting.
10-03-2010, 06:31 AM
Excellent work valtrex!!
10-07-2010, 11:33 AM
I remember my father singing bits of that Napoleonic sea shanty, usually at parties, with a drink or two in hand. Now I know where it comes from... That's pretty cool.
Thanks Valtrex, this thread rocks. It has become a daily read for me.
"Buvons un coup, buvons en deux!..." p-)
7 October 1944; 130,000 Dutch Guilders dropped behind enemy Lines in Holland for Jedburgh/SF-team Dudley.
10-09-2010, 06:05 AM
1238: King of Aragon, Jaume I el Conqueridor (=the Conqueror) defeated the Moors from the Balansiya taifa (=independent Moslem-ruled principality) and entered the city of Valencia on 9 October, which is regarded as the dawn of the Kingdom of Valencia.
John of Aragon's equestrian statue, in Valencia
1264: The Kingdom of Castille takes the Moslem town of Sherish and renames it Jerez, the capital of sherry wine, the Andalusian horse, and flamenco.
The Alcázar (=Arabic castle) of Jerez
1760: During the Seven Years' War, the Russians under Count Pyotr Semyonovich Saltykov and Austrians under Franz Moritz Graf von Lascy take Berlin from the Prussians and briefly occupied it.
Count Saltykov (left) and Count Lascy
1806: As part of the War of the Fourth Coalition (the fourth major concerted effort by Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom to contain Napoleonic France), Prussia declares war on France.
Friedrich-Wilhelm III, King of Prussia from 1797 - 1840
1831: The First Governor of the Independent Greek State, a Greek diplomat of the Russian Empire, Count Ioannes Antonios Capodistrias (or Kapodistrias), is assassinated on Sunday morning, on the steps of the church of Saint Spyridon in Nauplion (Greece's first capital) by the heroic Maniot family of the Greek War of Independence turned brigand, the Mavromikhales. On 21 September 2009, the city of Lausanne in Switzerland inaugurated a bronze statue of Kapodistrias in a ceremony attended by the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov and of Switzerland, Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Capodistrias as unofficial Russian ambassador to Switzerland, actively facilitated the initiation of a new Constitution for the 19 cantons that were the component states of Switzerland, with personal drafts
1854: During the Crimean War, the Siege of Sebastopol begins, lasting until September 1855. The defence of the city was led by Vice Admirals Vladimir Kornilov and Pavel Nakhimov assisted by the chief engineer, Lieutenant Colonel Eduard Totleben, commanding a garrison of ca 36,600 and from May 1855, 42,000 troops. The task to capture the city was undertaken by an allied army of French, British and Ottoman troops (comprised 75,000 French, 35,000 British, 60,000 Turkish, 15,000 Piedmontese and from August 1855, additional 85,000 troops from Switzerland, Poland, Malta, various German States) under French General François Certain de Canrobert, British General FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan and Ottoman Omar Pasha Latas.
1912: During the First Balkan War, the Battle of Sarandáporon occurs. The Greek Army of Thessaly with five Divisions, reached the Sarandáporon straits which had been extensively fortified by a German mission before the war. The total Ottoman force defending it equalled five Divisions with further 11 infantry battalions in reserve, supported by substantial artillery and three machine-gun companies. The Greek offensive began on the morning of Tuesday, 9 October, with the I, II and III Divisions attacking the Turkish main line frontally, the IV Division attempting a flanking move to the west, in order to bypass the fortifications and thence occupy the Porta straits in the rear of the Turkish positions, while the V Division was ordered to execute an even broader maneuvre. Hassan Tahsin Pasha deployed 9 Infantry battalions (22nd Division), 12 guns and 2 MG companies on the western front. On the central front, 5 Infantry battalions with 10 guns awaited the enemy's advance and on the eastern front 4 Infantry companies, one MG company and 2 cavalry troops had being placed in position fronting the Greeks. The advance of the Greek troops commenced at 06:30 hours (with Gennádes' Evzone Detachment under Colonel Stephanos Gennádes) on open terrain, under Turkish artillery fire (Krupp 75mm) that caused high casualties. The V Division run into stiff resistance, but the IV Division moved quickly and managed to push back the Turkish flank and occupy its designated objective (in this battle IV Division earned the name the winged division). The 9th Evzone Battalion under Major Ioannes Velissaríu attacked the Turkish flank at Deskáte and captured the town. During the night the Ottomans, after becoming aware of the IV Division's flanking move, retreated in order under the cover of the darkness and the heavy rain to avoid being completely encircled. The battle, although not very successful, was nonetheless of major significance to the Greeks. Despite the somewhat clumsy Greek plan, the Greek soldiers performed well, and the victory helped expunge the stain of the 1897 defeat to Ottoman Turkey. Greek losses accounted for 182 killed (18 officers) and 995 (30 officers) wounded. Ottoman casualties were severe. The Battle of Sarandáporon was the first action on the Greek Thessalian theatre of operations during the First Balkan War.
1934: King Alexander I Karadzordzevich, the First King of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, was assassinated as he was arriving in Marseilles to start a state visit to the Third French Republic, when a gunman, the Bulgarian Vlado Chernozemski, stepped from the street and shot the King and his chauffeur. He was himself killed immediately afterwards. French Foreign Minister Jean Louis Barthou was accidentally shot by a French policeman and died later.
1944: The 1st Bulgarian Army (Lt. Gen. Vladimir Stoychev) attacks the German Army along the Bulgaria-Yugoslavia border, towards Niš in Yugoslavia, with Yugoslavian partisans on their left flank and a Soviet force on their right. At this time the First Army consisted of three 10,000-men divisions.
General Stoychev took part in the Moscow Victory Parade in June 1945
1967: A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed.
1970: The République Khmère or Khmer Republic, the ill-fated regime of Cambodia that preceded the establishment of the totalitarian communist state known as Democratic Kampuchea is proclaimed in Cambodia.
1983: Attempted assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma. Chun survives but the blast kills 17 of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, and injures 17 others. Four Burmese officials also die in the blast.
1999: The last flight of the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" at Edwards AFB.
2006: North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device.
10-10-2010, 05:12 AM
680: The Battle of Karbala: 72 supporters and relatives of Muhammad's grandson Husayn ibn Ali, were perished (Ali included) by the forces of Yazid ibn Mu‘awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, commonly known as Yazid I, the Umayyad caliph, in Karbala (southwest of Baghdad, present-day Iraq). Shia Muslims commemorate the Battle of Karbala every year in the Islamic month of Muharram. The tenth day of Muharram is called Yaumu-l 'Ashurah, which is known by Shia Muslims as the day of grief, a day of mourning for the martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali.
Husayn ibn Ali's Mosque, on the site of his grave in Karbala, Iraq
732: The two-day Battle of Poitiers opens. A Carolingian Frankish army, numbering somewhere between 30 - 80,000 men, under the Frankish military and political leader, Charles Martel (=the Hammer), also known as Carolus Martellus, decisively defeated an army of the Umayyad Caliphate, numbering from 25,000 to 80,000 men under the governor of Al-Andalus, Abu Said Abdul Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Bishr ibn Al Sarem Al 'Aki Al Ghafiqi, commonly known as Abdderrahman. Franks suffered ca 1,100 losses. The Moors lost (according to modern estimates) ca 12,000 men, including Abdderrahman. Many historians claim that had Charles fallen, the Umayyad Caliphate would have easily conquered a divided Europe.
Charles Martel, the conqueror of Poitiers
1471: The Battle of Brunkeberg: A 9-12,000-strong Swedish army under Sten Sture den äldre (=the elder), the regent of Sweden, defeated the 6,000 Danes of the King of Denmark, Christian I. Advocating Swedish secession from the Kalmar Union (=the union of the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden - including a part of modern day Finland - under a single monarch) Sture's victory over Christian meant his power as viceroy of Sweden was secure and would remain so for the rest of his life.
According to legend, Sture had prayed to Saint George before the battle. He later tributed George by commissoning a statue of Saint George and the Dragon carved by the Lübeck sculptor Bernt Notke for the Storkyrkan church in Stockholm, as an obvious allegory of Sture's battle against Christian
1575: The Battle of Dormans: French Catholic troops under Henri I de Lorraine, 3rd duc de Guise, defeated a Protestant army under Philippe Du-Plessis-Mornay. Mornay was taken prisoner by the Duke of Guise but ransomed for a small sum. Henri de Guise suffered an injury to his face, which earned him the nickname le Balafré (=the scarred).
The victor, Henri de Guise
1911: The Wuchang Uprising, motivated by anger at corruption in the Qing government, frustration with the government's inability to restrain the interventions of foreign powers, and resentment of the majority Han Chinese toward a government dominated by an ethnic minority (the Manchus), started the Xinhai Revolution, which led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC).
1912: During the First Balkan War, the two-day Battle of Kumanovo opens. The Serbian Army with five Divisions, one cavalry Brigade and 148 artillery pieces, was engaged by the ca 65,000 troops (with 164 artillery pieces) of the Ottoman Vardar Army under Zeki Pasha. On the evening of the first day (Wednesday 10 October, O.S.), the Turks began the offensive at Kumanovo (modern-day Kumanova, northeast of Skopje, FYROM) attacking the Serbian positions (Danube Division I), 8 km (5 miles) distant. The Ottoman onslaught was checked with severe loss on both sides. At 01:00 hours of Thursday 11 October, the Serbs approached the Turkish entrenchment and fought for two hours. The country was open and although exposed to heavy artillery they stormed the Turkish positions repeatedly driving out the Turks in a hand-to-hand combat. Many dropped their rifles and used their knives or bayonets. The Serbs by noon had cleared Lobovkas valley and Kumanovo while the Turks withdrew 15 km (9 miles). Serbs suffered 687 killed, 3,280 wounded, 597 missing. Ottomans lost ca 4,200 killed or wounded (some of the Turkish officers wounded proved to be Germans), 327 made prisoners. The Battle of Kumanovo was the first action on the Serbian theatre of operations during the First Balkan War.
Commemorative medal for the First Balkan War of the Kingdom of Serbia
1941: The 250. Infanterie-Division, commonly known as División Azul (=Blue Division) (Maj. Gen. Agustín Muñoz Grandes), made up of Spanish volunteers and formed within days of the German attack on the Soviet Union, goes into action against the Soviets for the first time in the sector between Lake Illmen and the west bank of the Volkhov river. General Zhukov is put in charge of the West Front for the defence of Moscow. Heeresgruppe Süd (=Army Group South) (Gen. Friessner) concludes the battle along the Sea of Azov and takes 100,000 prisoners.
Men of the 263rd Regiment of the Spanish División Azul
1943: The Kempeitai - Japanese Military Police - arrested and tortured fifty-seven civilians and civilian internees on suspicion of their involvement in a raid on Singapore Harbour that had been carried out by Anglo-Australian commandos. After the war ended, twenty-one of the Kempeitai involved were charged with war crimes. Eight received the death sentence, seven were acquitted, and the remainder were given prison sentences varying from one year to life.
Kempeitai is the term used to describe the infamous Japanese military police, which often accompanied Japanese invasion forces to carry out the transition to a Japanese controlled government
1985: United States Navy F-14 fighter jets intercept an Egyptian plane carrying the Achille Lauro cruise ship hijackers and force it to land at a NATO base in Sigonella, Sicily where they are arrested by the Italians after a disagreement between American and Italian authorities: Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi claimed Italian territorial rights over the NATO base and there was a standoff, between the U.S. and Italy, because the U.S. had only informed the Italians minutes before the intercept.
The former Achille Lauro American hostages depart from Germany for the US
10-11-2010, 05:56 AM
1531: During the Second war of Kappel (an armed conflict between the Protestant and the Catholic cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy), the Battle of Kappel occurs. The Catholic cantons decisively defeated the forces of Zürich at Kappel am Albis, a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The Zürich troops were without support from allied cantons, and Huldrych Zwingli, a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, led them rather inexpertly, and was killed on the battlefield, along with twenty-four other protestant pastors. Zwingli was among the 500 casualties in the Zürich army.
1649: During the Eleven Years' War (a conflict in Ireland that pitted the native Irish Catholics against English and Scottish Protestant colonists and their supporters) the Sack of Wexford occurs. After a ten-day siege, English Parliamentarians (under Oliver Cromwell) stormed the town of Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish troops and 1,500 civilians. Much of the town was burned and its harbour was destroyed.
1899: The Second Boer War, fought between the British Empire and the Dutch-speaking Boer inhabitants of the two independent Boer republics, the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State, begins, with a Boer offensive into the British-held Natal and Cape Colony areas.
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1912: During the First Balkan War, the Battle of Kirkkilisse occurs. On the night of 10 October, an Ottoman column consisting of infantry, cavalry and volunteers under Mahmud Mukhtar Pasha, moved in a northerly direction from Kirkkilisse (modern-day Kırklareli in the European part of Turkey) threatened to split the 1st (Lt. Gen. Vasil Kutinchev) and 3rd (Lt. Gen. Radko Dimitriev) Bulgarian armies. The Turkish vanguard came in contact with the Bulgarians at dawn of 11 October and it was then found that the enemy was in overwhelming strength. The Turkish cavalry attempted to charge the Bulgarians (1st Sofia and 2nd Preslav brigades) but were punished and fled. Their rout created panic amongst infantry who began to withdraw. It was the 2nd Division of the Konstantiniye Corps that ultimately stemed the rout. Approximately 90,000 Turks engaged in the battle, but only a division and a half defended Kirkkilisse itself. At noon, Kirkkilisse was in Bulgarian hands. After the victory, the French minister of war Alexandre Millerand stated that the Bulgarian Army was the best in Europe. Bulgarians suffered ca 4,000 killed or wounded. Ottoman casualties were similarly heavy. Two hundred Ottomans of the rank and file were shot for cowardice. The Bulgarians captured 58 artillery pieces and two airplanes.
1942: The two-day Naval Battle of Cape Esperance, begins. A Japanese naval force, comprised 3 cruisers and two destroyers, under Rear Admiral Aritomo Goto as it approached Savo Island near Guadalcanal with the objective to bombard the Allied airfield on Guadalcanal, was intercepted by a U.S force of four cruisers and five destroyers, under the command of Rear Admiral Norman Scott. The Japanes were taken by surprise and Scott's warships sank one of Goto's cruisers and one of his destroyers, heavily damaged another cruiser, mortally wounded Goto, and forced the rest of his warships to abandon the bombardment mission.
Rear Admiral Scott, a posthumously MoH recipient (left) and Rear Admiral Goto
1943: A German section of ca 20 men is ambushed near the Thessalian town of Trikala, by an ELAS (=Greek People's Liberation Army) coy. After a fierce battle, the insurgents withdraw with an officer and a guerilla killed. All twenty of the Germans, perished.
1944: Hungarian forces in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca are defeated by the Soviet and Romanian armies. Hungary and the Soviet Union begin negotiations for a ceasefire.
Hungarians of the 22nd SS Volunteer Cavalry Division Maria Theresia, manning a PaK-40
1976: George Washington's appointment, posthumously, to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 is approved by President Gerald R. Ford.
1987: During the Sri Lankan Civil War, Operation Pawan a codename assigned to the operations by the Indian Peace Keeping Force to enforce the disarmament of the LTTE as a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, begin. In brutal fighting that took about three weeks, the IPKF took control of the Jaffna Peninsula from the LTTE rule, something that the Sri Lankan army had tried and failed to achieve for several years.
10-15-2010, 05:26 AM
533: General Belisarius enters triumphally into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals.
Belisarius dressed as "Θριαμβευτής" (thriamveutḗs, Greek for vir triumphalis, man of triumph), wearing his ceremonial panoply
1813: Napoleon Bonaparte begins his exile on Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean.
1894: Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent, is arrested for spying in what later proved to be a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. The famous and influential French writer, Émile François Zola, wrote an open letter to the President of France, published on January 13, 1898, in the newspaper "L'Aurore", under the title J' Accuse (I Accuse), accusing the highest levels of the French Army of obstruction of justice and antisemitism by having wrongfully convicted Alfred Dreyfus to life imprisonment on Devil's Island, based on fabrications.
WWI-1917: At Vincennes outside of Paris, Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari (real name, Margaretha-Geertruida Zelle) is executed by firing squad for spying for the German Empire.
1934: The Chinese Soviet Republic collapses after Chiang-Kai Shek's Kuomintang captures the county-city Ruijin, seat of the CSR central government, forcing the fleeing Communists to begin the Long March, the massive military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang army.
1944: The Hungarian chief of state, Admiral Miklós Horthy, shortly after announcing Hungary's withdrawal from the war against the USSR, is taken prisoner by a commando unit led by SS Sturmbannführer (=Major) Otto Skorzeny. A new government under Ferenc Szalasi vows to continue the alliance with Germany.
Admiral Miklós Horthy, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary, during an official visit to Hitler's Germany
1944: Greek Sacred Band's, Alpha Squadron after a three-day battle liberate the island of Naxos, in the Cyclades. 69 German troops made prisoners.
Sacred Band's Crest. This Crest was (1916 - 1918) the Greek WWI Cross, a design of the French sculptor André Rivaud. Sacred Band's motto, was the phrase: E Tan, e Epi Tas (Either it, or upon it), the wish given from the ancient Sparta's mothers to their sons in war times. Literally, it means, either you will return home carrying your shield, victorious, or you'll return carried on the shield, dead
1946: Hermann Göring committed suicide with a potassium cyanide capsule the night before he was to be hanged. Because he committed suicide, his dead body was displayed by the gallows for the witnesses of the executions.
1953: British nuclear test Totem 1 detonated at Emu Field, South Australia.
10-16-2010, 05:27 AM
456: The Germanic General and Magister Militum (=Master of Troops, Supreme Commander), Flavius Ricimer, defeated the Gallic-Roman Emperor of the Western Empire, Eparchius Avitus, in Placentia (modern-day Piacenza, Italy) and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire. The Emperor and his army entered the city and attacked the huge army led by Ricimer, but after a great massacre of his men, Avitus fled. Ricimer decided to spare the life of the defeated Emperor; he deposed Avitus and obliged him to become Bishop of Placentia.
1793: During the French Revolutionary Wars, the two-day Battle of Wattignies opens. A 45,000-strong French army under the overall command of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan and Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Comte Carnot (commander of French columns on the Northern Front), defeated the 30,000-strong Habsburg army led by Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. French losses numbered 5,000 killed, wounded, and missing, plus 27 artillery pieces captured. The Austrians suffered 2,500 killed and wounded, while an additional 500 men were captured.
The conqueror of Wattignies, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
1813: During the War of the Sixth Coalition, the three-day Battle of Leipzig, opens. A 195,000-strong, Imperial Napoleonic army, comprised Poles under Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski, the Poles and Saxons of Frederick Augustus I of Saxony, and the French under the overall command of Emperor Napoleon I, with 700 cannon, was defeated by the 430,000-strong allied army under Field Marshal Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg, consisting of troops from the Habsburg Empire, Swedes under Charles XIV John Bernadotte of Sweden, the Prussians of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher and the Russians of Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly and Leonty Leontyevich Count von Bennigsen, with 1,500 cannon. The battle involved over 600,000 soldiers, making it the largest battle in Europe prior to WWI. It was one of the most decisive defeats suffered by Napoleon I. Napoleon lost about 38,000 killed and wounded. The Allies captured 36,000 French, 325 cannon and 28 eagles, standards or colours. Among the dead was Prince Poniatowski, a nephew to the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Allies suffered approximately 54,000 casualties. The battle ended the First French Empire's presence east of the Rhine and brought the German states over to the Coalition. The Coalition pressed its advantage and invaded France in early 1814. Napoleon was forced from the throne of France and exiled to the island of Elba.
Painting by January Suchodolski illustrating Poniatowski's death in the Battle of Leipzig
1941: The Soviet major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea, Odessa (today's Odesa, Ukraine) falls to the Romanians after a Soviet evacuation by sea. During the two-month siege, the Romanians have suffered 98,000 casualties.
Romanian infantry in Odessa
1944: The Red Army enters German territory near Goldap in East Prussia. Thousands of German civilians flee the area in panic.
1944: Greek Sacred Band's Alpha Raider Squadron (i.e. Alpha Commando Battalion), under Col. Themistocles Ketseas, raid the N. Aegean island of Lemnos. Lemnos is liberated after a two-day battle. Dozens of Germans are killed, wounded or held prisoners.
Colonel Themistocles Ketseas
1949: Nikos Zakhariádes, leader of the Communist Party of Greece, announces a temporary cease-fire, effectively ending the Greek Civil War.
Nikólaos "Nikos" Zakhariádes
1964: People's Republic of China conducts its first nuclear weapons test (Project 596). It was a U-235 implosion fission device and had a yield of 22 kilotons. With the test, China became the fifth nuclear power.
1975: The Balibo Five, a group of journalists for Australian television networks, comprised two Australians, a New Zealander and two Britons, based in the town of Balibo in the then Portuguese Timor (now Timor Leste), were killed during Indonesian incursions prior to the invasion of Portuguese Timor by Indonesia. In 2007, an Australian coroner ruled that they had been deliberately killed by Indonesian special force soldiers.
1986: The IAF fighter pilot and weapon systems officer, Cpt. (now Lt. Col.) Ron Arad, is captured by Lebanese Shi'ite militia Amal. He is officially classified as MIA since October 1986, but widely presumed dead.
1993: The President of the Republic of Cyprus, Glaukos Clerides and Greek PM, Andreas Papandreou, agree in Athens, Greece, for the creation of a joint defence doctrine, encompassing Cyprus as part of a Common Defence Doctrine with Greece. Any attack on Cyprus was tantamount to an attack on Greece.
10-17-2010, 05:09 AM
539 BC: King Cyrus the Great of Persia, marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile and making the first Human Rights Declaration. The charter, a baked-clay cylinder, with Old Persian cuneiform script, was discovered in 1878 in Babylon. In it, Cyrus the Great described his human treatment of the inhabitants of Babylonia after its conquest by the Persians. The document has been hailed as the first charter of human rights, and in 1971 a translation of it was published, under the ægis of the UN, in all the official UN languages.
...Today, I announce that everyone is free to choose a religion. People are free to live in all regions and take up a job provided that they never violate other's rights. I prevent slavery and my governors and subordinates are obliged to prohibit exchanging men and women as slaves within their own ruling domains... - Cyrus the Great
1396: During the Second War of Scottish Independence, the Battle of Neville's Cross occurs. 12,000 Scots under their King, David II, invaded England and were defeated by an English army of some 3 - 4,000 men from Cumberland, Northumberland and Lancashire, with another 3,000 Yorkshiremen en route, mobilised under the supervision of William de la Zouche, Archbishop of York and led by Ralph Neville 2nd Baron Neville de Raby and Henry de Percy 9th Baron Percy, 2nd Baron of Alnwick. Scottish chroniclers Andrew of Wyntoun and Walter Bower both wrote that 1,000 Scots were killed in the battle, while according to the Chronicle of Lanercost, few English were killed.
1448: During the Ottoman Wars in Europe, the three-day, Second Battle of Kosovo begins. A coalition army of ca 24,000 men from the Kingdom of Hungary and Wallachia, under John Hunyadi, also known as Ioannes Corvinus, was defeated by an up to 60,000-strong Ottoman army under the Ottoman Sultan, Murad II. Ottomans suffered 34,000 killed or wounded. The Hungarians lost almost 75% of their force.
The victor, Murad II
1777: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his sword to American General Horatio Lloyd Gates, only to have it returned. Burgoyne's army - ca 6,000-strong - marched out to surrender their arms while the American musicians played Yankee Doodle. The British acknowledge defeat in the Battle of Saratoga.
1781: British Major General, Charles, Earl Cornwallis, offers his surrender to the American revolutionists at Yorktown, Virginia.
1797: The Treaty of Campoformido, is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Johann Ludwig Joseph von Cobenzl as representatives of France and Austria. It marked the collapse of the First Coalition, the victorious conclusion to Napoleon's campaigns in Italy and the end of the first phase of the French Revolutionary Wars. Austria received Dalmatia, Istria and the city of Venice, France ceded the Ionian Islands.
Commemorative medal for the Treaty of Campoformido, with the portrait of the young revolutionary general, Napoleon Bonaparte
1827: During the Greek War of Independence, the French veteran of the Napoleonic wars and Philhellene, Charles Nicolas Fabvier, commanding Greek regular and irregular units, as well as many armed Chians, land and liberate the island of Chios.
Charles Nicolas Fabvier...
...in July 1825 formed the first Greek regular infantry unit, known to the Greek revolutionaries as Fabvier's tactical, based on French Réglement concernant l'exercice et les manoeuvres de l'infanterie (Regulations concerning Infantry exercises and maneuvres) of 1818
1941: Destroyer USS "Kearny" (DD-432), while escorting convoy SC-48, is torpedoed and damaged by German submarine off Iceland. For the first time in WWII, a German submarine attacks an American ship.
1941: Two companies of German troops, raze to the ground the villages of Ano Kerdylia and Kato Kerdylia in the prefecture of Serres, Eastern Macedonia, Greece, and massacre 235 male inhabitants, 130 from Ano Kerdylia, 105 from Kato Kerdylia, as reprisal for the killing of one German soldier.
The memorial to the massacred Kerdylians
1943: During military operations in Aegean after the surrender of Italian forces, Greek destroyer RHNS "Miaoules" (L91) (Lt. Cdr. Niketiades) and British destroyer HMS "Hursley" (L84) (Lt. Church) attack and sink the German submarine chaser UJ2109 (Ex-British minesweeper of Hunt class) and badly damage the transport "Trapani" (1000 t).
The Miaoules (left) and the Hursley
1961: During the Algerian War, scores of Algerian protesters (from 200 to 325) are massacred when the Paris police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Prefecture of Police, attacked an illegal but peaceful demonstration of some 30,000 pro-FLN Algerians.
A memorial plaque for Algerians massacred on 17 October, 1961
10-20-2010, 05:07 AM
1740: Following her father's death, Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to recognise Maria Theresia as heiress and the War of the Austrian Succession begins.
Empress Maria Theresia was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands, and Parma. By marriage, she was Duchess of Lorraine, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and Holy Roman Empress. She reigned for 40 years
1883: The Treaty of Ancón, signed by Chile and Peru in the Ancón District near Lima, ends the War of the Pacific. Under the treaty's terms, Chile gained control over the province of Tarapacá.
1941: As a direct reprisal for the German losses in the attack by Communist Partisans on German soldiers near Gornji Milanovac, Yugoslavia, German troops rounded up thousands of Kragujevac (today's Kragujevac in Serbia) male inhabidants aged 16 - 60. The massacre started at 6 PM on 20 October and lasted for two days. People were shot in groups of 400. The number of people massacred ranged between 2,300 - 7,000. Franz Böhme, the Commanding General in Serbia, charged with war crimes committed in Serbia, was brought before the Hostages Trial, a division of the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials. He committed suicide by jumping from the 4th floor of the prison he was being held in.
1944: The Red Army liberates Belgrade, Yugoslavia (modern-day Belgrade, Serbia).
Soviets enter Belgrade
1944: General Douglas MacArthur fulfills his promise to return to the Philippines. The U.S. Sixth Army (Lt. Gen. Krueger) landings in the Philippines begin on the East Coast of Leyte, but the 60,000 men sent ashore encounter stiff Japanese resistance.
1950: PRC's, PVA (People's Volunteer Army) secretly move four 30,000-man field armies across the Yalu River into North Korea. Three of the armies are in western North Korea to face the Americans and South Korean soldiers streaming up from Pyongyang. The fourth is in the east. Preparations are underway to move two more armies into North Korea in October.
PVA crossing the Yalu River
10-20-2010, 05:20 AM
1972: During the Vietnam War, a series of racial incidents broke out, on the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS "Kitty Hawk" (CVA-63) off the coast of Vietnam, wherein (according to a Report by the Special Subcommittee on Disciplinary Problems in the US Navy 92nd Cong., 2d sess., 1973, H.A.S.C. 92-81), "...a group of blacks, armed with chains, wrenches, bars, broomsticks and other dangerous weapons, went marauding through sections of the ship disobeying orders to cease, terrorizing the crew, and seeking out white personnel for senseless beating with fists and with weapons which resulted in extremely serious injury to three men and the medical treatment of many more, including some blacks".
Anyone else heard of this? Wow a modern day mutiny. I guess when you have had enough......
Valtrex this is a great thread. Thanks
10-24-2010, 05:51 AM
69: During the Year of the Four Emperors (in 69 AD, four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession - Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasi**** - following Nero's suicide), the Second Battle of Bedriacum occurs. Legions III Gallica, VIII Augusta, VII Claudia, VII Galbiana and XIII Gemina under Marcus Antonius Primus, the commander of the Danube armies, loyal to Titus Flavius Vespasi****, defeated the Legions XXI Rapax, V Alaudæ, I Italica and XXII Primigenia, loyal to Emperor Aulus Vitellius Germanicus, near the village of Bedriacum (modern-day Calvatone), about 35 km (20 miles) from the town of Cremona in northern Italy. Following his victory, Antonius attacked Cremona itself, which surrendered. Antonius continued to Rome, where Vitellius was taken prisoner and shortly afterwards killed. The way was thus cleared for Vespasi**** to ascend the throne near the end of the year.
Titus Flavius Vespasi****
1360: The Treaty of Brétigny signed by King Edward III of England and King John II (the Good) of France, ended the first phase of the Hundred Years' War. In 1369, on the pretext that Edward III had failed to observe the terms of the treaty of Brétigny, the king of France declared war once again.
1648: The signing of the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 at Münster and Osnabrück ended the Thirty Years' War and Eighty Years' War and was one of the foundations upon which modern Europe was built. It also guaranteed the future of the prince-bishop and the diocese; Münster was to be exclusively Roman Catholic.
Europe after the Peace of Westphalia
1795: With the Third Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland is divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria, the Polish state is erased from the map.
1690: During the War of the Grand Alliance (fought from 1688 - 1697 between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch Stadtholder-King William III, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, King Charles II of Spain, Victor Amadeus II of Savoy, and the major and minor princes of the Holy Roman Empire) the Battle of Québec concludes with the exchange of prisoners. A militia army of 2,000 from New France (a territory extended from Newfoundland to the Rocky Mountains and from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico) under Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac et de Palluau, defeated a British army of some 2,300 men comprised British regulars and Massachusetts Bay Colony militia (including 60 natives) under Sir William Phips in a week-long battle. The Anglo-American colonial force failed to seize Québec from the French.
1812: During the French Invasion to Russia, the Battle of Maloyaroslavets occurs. A Russian army of 12,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry and 84 cannon, under General Dmitry Sergeyevich Dokhturov, surprised the 20,000 French and Italians of Napoleon's stepson, Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam, and General Alexis Joseph Delzons. Their Corps was leading Napoleon's army during the Moscow evacuation. Upon arrival of Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov's Corps numbering some additional 10,000, Beauharnais' Corps turned and continued its retreat Northwards. French casualties were about 5,000, including Delzons killed, while the Russians lost 6,000.
1912: During the First Balkan War, the week-long Battle of Pente-Peghádhia opens. A Greek force of barely 8,000 troops comprised the 15th Infantry Regiment and five independent battalions, supported by 24 field guns, under Lt. Gen. Constantine Sapuntzákes, engaged the 7,000 troops of the Ottoman 23rd Division, with 32 guns, under Esat Pasha, at Pente-Peghádhia, near the Epirotan town of Preveza. Esat Pasha, having set up his headquarters at Pente-Peghádhia, began an attack against the Greek positions with 5 battalions. Due to bad weather and the early onset of snow, the attack petered out to local actions, which ended with the Ottoman withdrawal seven days later. The Greeks suffered 26 dead and 222 wounded. Ottoman casualties are unknown. The battle of Pente-Peghádhia was the first major action on the Greek secondary theatre of operations, in Epirus, during the First Balkan War.
1912: During the First Balkan War, the two-day Battle of Amyntæon concludes. While the Greek 5th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Mathiopulos) was advancing northwards, towards Bitola, they were surprised near Veve by an attack of the Ottoman VI Corps (part of the Vardar Army with the 16th, 17th and 18th Nizamiye divisions), which was retreating following the battle of Prilepe with the Serbs. The Greeks, isolated from the rest of Greek army and outnumbered by the now counterattacking Turks, fell back towards Amyntæon, leaving Bitola to be eventually captured by the Serbs. The Greek Division suffered 168 dead, 196 wounded; 10 made prisoners. The battle is an evidence of the consequences of the lack of any coordination between the allies, during the First Balkan War.
WWI-1917: The Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, commonly known as Battle of Caporetto, ends in Italian failure. Austro-German forces breakthrough at Caporetto on Italian front. The Central Powers' offensive began at approximately 02:00 hours with 15 divisions and 2,213 artillery under Austro-Hungarian Field Marshal Svetozar Boroević von Bojna and German General Otto von Below against the 25 Italian divisions with 2,200 artillery, under Field Marshal Luigi Cadorna and General Luigi Capello. Italian losses were enormous: 11,000 were killed, 20,000 wounded and 265,000 were taken prisoner; morale was so low amongst the Italians, mainly due to Cadorna's harsh disciplinary regime, that most of these surrendered willingly. Furthermore, roughly 3,000 guns, 3,000 machine guns and 2,000 mortars were captured. Austrians and Germans lost ca 20,000 killed or wounded.
1930: A bloodless coup d'état in Brazil ousts Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, the last President of the First Republic. Getúlio Dornelles Vargas is then installed as "provisional president."
1944: The allies cross the Saar near the Franco-German border. Troops of the French First Army (General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny) capture Mulhouse/Mühlhausen in Alsace, while the French 2nd Armoured Division (General Philippe Leclerc) takes Strasbourg.
10-25-2010, 04:49 AM
1147: During the Second Crusade, the four-month Siege of Lisbon ended with the expelling of its Moorish overlords and its fall to Ibn-Arrik el-Bortukali (=Arabic for "Son of Henry the Portuguese", king Afonso I Henriques). The Portuguese under their king Afonso I and Crusaders from England and Flanders marked one of the few Christian victories of the Second Crusade.
Statue of Dom Afonso I Henriques in Guimarães
1147: During the Second Crusade, a crusader army of some 20,000 under Conrad III of Germany, while stopped at Dorylæum to rest, was suprisingly attacked by the Seljuqs under the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rum Masud I and annihilated. Conrad and most of the knights escaped, but most of the foot soldiers were killed or captured. The remaining 2,000 men of the German army limped on to Nicæa, where many of the survivors deserted and tried to return home.
The victor, Sultan Masud I
1415: During the Hundred Years' War, the Battle of Agincourt occurs, on Saint Crispin's Day. A 6 - 7,000-strong English army under king Henry V of England, defeated the ca 36,000 French led by the Constable of France, Charles d'Albret. The battle is notable for the use of the English longbow, which Henry used in very large numbers, with English and Welsh longbowmen forming the vast majority of his army. The French suffered heavily. Three dukes, at least eight counts, a viscount and an archbishop died, including d'Albret. French sources give 4 - 10,000 French dead, with up to 1,600 English dead. Henry eventually was recognised by the French in the Treaty of Troyes (1420) as the regent and heir to the French throne.
Laurence Olivier - St Crispin's Day Speech from "Henry V" by William Shakespeare
1747: During the War of the Austrian Succession, the Second Naval Battle of Cape Finisterre occurs. A Royal Navy fleet of fourteen ships of the line commanded by Rear-Admiral Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke intercepted a French convoy protected by eight French ships of the line commanded by Admiral Desherbiers de l'Etenduère, between Ireland and Cape Finisterre in northwest Spain. The British overhauled the French line and enveloped it from rear to van, capturing six ships. The French also lost 4,000 men. The British lost 154 killed, 558 wounded.
1854: During the Crimean War, the Battle of Balaclava occurs. An Anglo-French force of some 4,500 troops, supported by 26 arty pieces, under FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan and François Certain de Canrobert, were attacked by the 25,000 Russians of General Pavel Petrovich Liprandi, at the southern Crimean port of Balaclava. The battle is famous for one of the most ill-fated events in British military history: The Charge of the Light Brigade, a disastrous charge of British cavalry led by Lt. Gen. James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, against Russian forces. The brigade was not completely destroyed, but did suffer terribly, with 118 men killed, 127 wounded and about 60 taken prisoner. The overall allied losses accounted for 615. The Russians suffered 627 killed or wounded.
Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous poem, The charge of the Light Brigade
The Iron Maiden song "The Trooper" is about the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 during the Crimean War, and is at least partially based upon Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem The Charge of the Light Brigade, taking the viewpoint of one of the slain troopers
1912: During the First Balkan War, the Greeks after the victory at Yenidze, neared their goal of Thessaloniki, the largest city of Macedonia and the port for the entire region. Hasan Tahsin Pasha, CO of the city's Ottoman garrison agreed to Greek terms of capitulation and 26,000 Ottoman troops passed over into Greek captivity.
1917: The October Revolution, the second part of the Russian revolution, takes place on 25 October (O.S.). The revolution overthrew the Russian Provisional Government and gave the power to the local soviet dominated by Bolsheviks.
1983: Operation Urgent Fury: A combined force of about 7,600 troops from the United States, Jamaica and members of the Regional Security System (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) invade Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters are executed in a coup d'état. The invasion, which commenced at 05:00 hours, was the first major operation conducted by the U.S. military since the Vietnam War. The invading forces encountered about 1,500 Grenadian soldiers and about 700 Cubans. The invasion was criticized by the United Kingdom, Canada and the United Nations General Assembly, which condemned it as "a flagrant violation of international law". The US suffered 19 killed,116 wounded. The Cubano-Grenadian force suffered 70 killed (25 Cubans), 417 wounded (59 Cubans); 638 made prisoners. 24 civilians perished.
10-30-2010, 05:20 AM
758: The Chinese city of Guangzhou is sacked by Arab and Persian pirates (known to them as Sin-Kalan and Canton to the West).
1137: During the Italo-Norman War, the Battle of Rignano occurs. Rainolfo d'Alife, count of Alife and Caiazzo, defeated a Sicilian army under the Norman king of Sicily, Roger II, with a contingent of 800 German troops on loan from the Holy Roman Emperor Lothair III.
Detail of the 12th c. mosaic with Roger II receiving the crown by Christ, Santa Maria dell' Ammiraglio, commonly called the Martorana, Palermo. The mosaic carries an inscription Rhogerhios Rhēx in Greek
1270: During the Eighth Crusade, the siege of Tunis was abandoned by an agreement between Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily and the Hafsanid Sultan of Tunis, Muhammad I al-Mustansir. In this agreement the Christians gained free trade with Tunis, and residence for monks and priests in the city was guaranteed.
1340: During the Moroccan-Portuguese Wars, the Battle of Río Salado occurs. A combined Hispano-Portuguese army under King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile, defeated the combined Moorish force (3,000 horse and 8,000 foot) under the Benemerine Sultan Abu Al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman and the Nasrid ruler of Granada in Iberia, Yusuf I, at Río Salado near Tarifa, a small town in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. The Benemerines suffered a disastrous defeat and moved back to Africa. Never again was a Muslim army able to invade the Iberian Peninsula.
1863: Danish Prince Christian Wilhelm Ferdinand Adolf Georg of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg arrives in Athens, Greece to assume his throne as George I, King of the Hellenes.
The new 17-year-old king arrives in Piræus
1864: The Second Schleswig War concludes. It was fought for nine months between the Germanic Confederation (the association of Austrian Empire and Kingdom of Prussia created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to serve as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation) and Denmark. With the Peace Treaty of Vienna, the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein, and Saxe-Lauenburg are ceded to Prussia and Austria.
1943: 314 Greek Commandos of the Sacred Band under Col. Khristódulos Tsigantes, take the island of Samos with Italian and British help. They anticipate a major German operation to recapture it.
1944: The Debrecen counter attacks end with the Germans claiming that they have inflicted 25,000 casualties and destroyed 600 tanks. However, this doesn't hinder the Red Army and they begin a major offensive in to Hungary.
1961: The Soviet Union detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya; at 58 megatons of yield, it is still the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise.
11-01-2010, 04:07 AM
1814: The Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France, in the Napoleonic Wars. It was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich of Austria. The Congress of Vienna preserved the balance of power in Europe, but it could not check the spread of revolutionary movements on the continent.
WWI-1914: The Naval Battle of Coronel, off the coast of central Chile near the city of Coronel, occurs. A German Imperian Navy fleet comprised 2 armoured cruisers and 3 light cruisers, led by Vice-Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee, defeated a Royal Navy fleet of 2 armoured cruisers, 1 light cruiser and 1 auxiliary cruiser, under Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher George Francis Maurice Cradock. 1,570 British officers, petty officers and ratings were killed or drowned with Cradock among them. 2 armoured cruisers (HMS "Good Hope" (1901), HMS "Monmouth" (1901)lost.
1940: Invading Italians are stopped at the banks of the river Kalamás in NW Epirus. The Frizís' boys, the troops of the Aóos' Detachment, under Col. Mordechai Frizís stemmed the ******* of Italian attacks and captured dozens of Italians. The Italian Mountain Division Julia, is trapped near Métsovon by seven Greek divisions and is threatened with annihilation. The new Italian effort to break the Greek resistance begins with the attack on Kalpáki at 08:00. The strategic Height 1060 (Grambála) is taken by the Italians at 12:00 hours. At 20:00 hours it was taken back by the Evzones of Major Pantazís. 1st Lt. Alexandros Diákos is the first Greek officer KIA, in the battle of Height 1157.
1941: German troops of the 11. Armee (Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein) take Simferopol, the capital of the Crimea.
Erich von manstein
1942: The Fourth Battle of the Matanikau opens. Seven battalions of U.S. Marine and Army troops under Lt. Col. Merritt A. Edson attacked and defeated Japanese Army units between the river and Point Cruz, on the northern Guadalcanal coast. The battle concluded on 4 November, with ca 400 Japanese killed or wounded. U.S. losses accounted for 71 killed.
1943: The I Marine Amphibious Corps (U.S. 3rd Marine Division, 37th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, and a brigade of the 3rd New Zealand Division) under Gen. Roy Geiger, landed on the west coast of Bougainville, North Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea. The Allies established a beachhead around Cape Torokina for the construction of an airfield within fighter range of Rabaul. Allied forces did not plan at this time to try to capture the entire island of Bougainville from Japanese forces.
1944: The British Royal Marines and Army Commandos land on Dutch island of Walcheren off the Scheldt Estuary in an attempt to clear the German defenders from this strategic island.
1951: During Operation Buster-Jangle (a series of seven nuclear weapons tests conducted by the U.S. in late 1951 at the Nevada Test Site), 6,500 American soldiers are exposed to atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary.
1952: Operation Ivy: The United States successfully detonates the first large hydrogen bomb, codenamed Mike, in the Eniwetok atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The explosion had a yield of 10 megatons.
1954: The Algerian Front de Libération Nationale (=National Liberation Front) fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence. FLN maquisards (=guerrillas) launched attacks in various parts of Algeria against military and civilian targets. From Cairo, the FLN broadcast a proclamation calling on Muslims in Algeria to join in a national struggle for the restoration of the Algerian state - sovereign, democratic and social - within the framework of the principles of Islam.
11-02-2010, 05:11 AM
1899: During the Second Boer War, Boers begin their 118-day siege of British held Ladysmith, Natal (today's Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal) the British centre of operations for the protection of Natal against the Boer forces, under Lt. Gen. George Stuart White. A total of around 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege.
WWI-1914: Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.
1936: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaims the Rome-Berlin Axis, establishing the alliance of the Axis Powers.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, a squadron of 27 Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM-79 bombers, with Fiat CR-42 fighter escorts, headed towards Thessaloniki. Soon they were spotted and intercepted by Greek PZL P-24 fighters of the 22nd Squadron. During the dogfights, three of the bombers were shot down, while the rest reached their targets, released their bombs and commenced their return to their base in Albania. Flying Officer Marínos Metraléxes, who had already shot down one bomber, was now out of ammunition, so he aimed the nose of his PZL P-24 (Δ 130) right into an enemy bomber's tail (ΜΜ 22381), smashing the rudder and sending the bomber out of control. He then had to make an emergency landing near the crashed bomber. Having landed, Metraléxes arrested the four surviving crew members of the enemy aircraft using his pistol. For this extraordinary feat, Metraléxes was promoted to Wing Commander and awarded a number of medals, including Greece's highest award for bravery, the Gold Cross of Valour. He was the only Air Force officer to be awarded it during the war.
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4166/73392458171888837110302dotjpg http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/1041/valourtype1hl9dotjpg http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3667/65934458171948837110302dotjpg
1943: The two-day Naval Battle of Empress Augusta Bay ends. A U.S. Navy fleet of 4 light cruisers, 8 destroyers commanded by Rear-Admiral Aaron Stanton Merrill, defeated a Japanese fleet comprised 2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, 6 destroyers under Admiral Sentaro Omori off Bougainville, North Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea. The Japanese lost two ships (1 light cruiser, 1 destroyer) while 2 destroyers were heavily damaged. 198 - 658 crew members killed. The U.S. suffered 1 destroyer heavily damaged, with 19 killed.
1944: The Canadians take Zeebrugge, the last corner of occupied Belgium, on Channel coast.
1944: The 2. Panzerarmee (=Second Panzer Army) (General der Artillerie Maximilian de Angelis) establishes a firm defensive line west of Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
1944: The Red Army enters the southeastern suburbs of Budapest.
1963: During a military coup d'état in South Vietnam, President Ngô Ðình Diệm and his younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu are assassinated in the back of an armoured personnel carrier by Captain Nguyen Van Nhung while en route to the Vietnamese Joint General Staff headquarters.
A graphic photo of the dead body of assassinated president Diệm (http://www.imagehosting.gr/out.php/i1471816_diem-deaddotjpg)
1965: During the Vietnam War, Norman Morrison, a 31-year-old Quaker, sets himself on fire in front of the river entrance to the Pentagon to protest the use of napalm in the Vietnam war.
11-03-2010, 05:33 AM
644: At zenith of his power, Umar ibn al-Khattab, the second Muslim ruler after Muhammad's death is assassinated by Persians, in response to the Muslim conquest of Persia.
Tombstone of Caliph Umar, in Al-Masjid al-Nabawi, Medina, Saudi Arabia
1468: Liège is sacked by Charles I of Burgundy's troops. The town was carried by assault and the inhabitants were massacred.
Charles I the Terrible (to his enemies) was the last Valois Duke of Burgundy
1812: During the Napoleonic retreat from Russia, the Battle of Vyazma occurs. The rear guard of the Grande Armée, comprised the 24,000-strong Louis-Nicolas Davout's Corps, was defeated by the 26,500 Russians commanded by General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich at Vyazma, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. The battle represented a defeat of the Grande Armée's rearguard, as French losses in this battle were enormous, they suffered 6,000 to 8,000 casualties, including 4,000 lost as prisoners to the Russians. The Russians lost ca 1,800 killed or wounded.
The conqueror of Vyazma, Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
1867: During the Risorgimento (Resurgence or Unification of Italy), the Battle of Mentana occurs. An army of somewhere between 4 - 10,000 Garibaldini volunteers under Giuseppe Garibaldi, was defeated by the 5,000 to 22,000 Franco-Papal troops under Generals Hermann Kanzler and Balthazar de Polhès, at Mentana, a town in the province of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. Garibaldi lost 1,100 killed or wounded; 800 - 1,000 of his volunteers made prisoners. The Franco-Papal army lost 182 killed and wounded.
WWI-1918: Austria-Hungary enters into an armistice with the Allies, and the Habsburg-ruled empire dissolves: Hungary officially ended the personal union between Austria and Hungary.
The last Habsburg emperor of Austria-Hungary, Karl I. On 3 October 2004, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Italian 3a Divisione Alpina Julia (3rd Alpine Division Julia) is destroyed. 5,000 Italian alpini troops made prisoners.
The Italian Alpini Song "Sul ponte di Perati" (On the bridge of Perati) is dedicated to the Alpini sacrifice on the Greek mountains:
"Sul ponte di Perati, bandiera nera:
L'è il lutto degli alpini che va a la guerra
L'è il lutto della Julia che va a la guerra
La meglio gioventù che va sotto tera.
Quelli che son partiti, non son tornati:
Sui monti della Grecia sono testati".
"On the bridge of Perati a black flag:
Flies of grief for the alpini who go to war
Flies of grief for the alpini of Julia, who go to war
The flower of youth goes under the earth.
Those who left, haven't returned:
On the Greek mountains are burried".
1942: The Koli Point action begins as part of the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on 12 November. It was a battle fought between the 7th Rgt of United States Marine Corps and 164th Rgt of United States Army under the tactical command of William Henry Rupertus and Edmund B. Sebree, and Imperial Japanese Army forces belonged to the 230th Infantry Regiment and commanded by Toshinari Shoji around Koli Point on Guadalcanal. U.S. losses accounted for 40 killed. The Japanese lost ca 500 killed or wounded.
1943: The 8th U.S. Air Force launch a 400-bomber daylight raid on Wilhelmshaven with 600-fighter escort. At night the RAF drop over 2,000 tons of bombs on Düsseldorf in 27 minutes.
1944: Brig. Gen. Ján Golian, Deputy C-in-C of the partisan army during the Slovak National Raising and Maj. Gen. Rudolf Viest, C-in-C of the partisan army during the Slovak National Uprising, were captured by German special forces on 3 November, 1944 in Pohronský Bukovec. They were taken to Berlin in Germany, sentenced to death, and executed in the Flossenbürg concentration camp in 1945.
Maj. Gen. Viest (left), Brig. Gen. Golian
1967: During the Vietnam War, the Battle of Đắk Tô opens. It was a series of major engagements in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam fought between elements of the U.S. 4th Infantry Division, the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade, the South Vietnamese 42nd Infantry Regiment and Airborne units, and the 1st North Vietnamese Division comprised elements of the NV People's Army and local Viet Cong. 376 U.S. troops had been killed or listed as missing and another 1,441 were wounded, in the fighting around Đắk Tô by the end of November. The South Vietnamese lost 79 soldiers. The Communists lost from 1,000 - 1600 troops.
1988: Sri Lankan Tamil mercenaries try to overthrow the Maldivian government. At President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's request, the Indian military suppresses the coup attempt within 24 hours.
11-04-2010, 05:36 AM
1576: During the Eighty Years' War, 20,000 Spanish tercios sacked and plundered the city of Antwerp in today's Belgium. The Spaniards, angry at fighting without rest or pay massacred 6,000 to 7,000 civilians and burnt down 800 houses. The sack of Antwerp during the Eighty Years' War is known as the Furia Española (=Spanish Fury).
1912: During the First Balkan War, the Battle of Siátista occurs. Strong Turkish forces supported by a mountain arty battery under Mehmet Pasha, attacked the Greek armed bands formed by Siatistans revolted on 12 October. Greek army elements under Col. Antonios Epites (5,000 troops with three arty pieces) aided by local Siatistan scouts and Cretan volunteers, attacked and defeated the Ottomans in the battle and liberated the town
The name of the town Siátista, is the Greek rendering of the German Schatzstadt (Rich or Treasure city). Siatistan emigrants to Germany, in early 18th c. were using this name for their hometown instead of the Greek one Phlorópolis which means exactly Rich City. After a while, the German name dominated and the Greek Phlorópolis, in time, was forgotten. The photo depicts the Greek flag raised by the Siatistans Nicholas and Agnes Patsias on 5 November 1912 signalling the liberation of the town. The dummy on the left is dressed in traditional Siatistan clothing, similar to the one worn by the Siatistan insurgents of 1912.
1942: The Second Battle of El Alamein concludes. Following weeks of preparation and the refinement of a plan originally devised by General Claude John Eyre Auchinleck, his predecessor as Eighth Army CO, General Bernard Law Montgomery unleashed a barrage of 900 arty pieces against German positions at El Alamein during the pre-dawn hours of 23 October. For nearly two weeks the Eighth Army attempted a decisive breakthrough. The initial offensive, codenamed, Operation Lightfoot made good progress before bogging down. Montgomery renewed his effort on 2 November, with Operation Supercharge. Two days later, with heavy casualties, Panzerarmee Afrika (=Panzer Army Africa) (Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel) was in retreat.
Brigadier Ernest F. Benjamin reviews the Jewish Brigade; El Alamein
The Scottish Guards charge; Battle of El-Alamein
Col Pausanias Katsótas, CO of the Greek Brigade with the Greek Minister of War; El Alamein
The CO of the Eighth Army, Gen. Montgomery (left) pins on his hat the Greek National Cockade. Col. Katsótas stands next to him (center); El Alamein
1943: The U.S. Fifth Army (Lt. Gen. Mark Wayne Clark) capture Isernia, 80 km (50 miles) North of Naples and link up with British Eighth Army (Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery) moving North West from Foggia. U.S. casualties in Mediterranean since Operation Torch (the landings in North Africa) reach 31,126 killed or wounded.
1956: Soviet troops enter Hungary to end the Hungarian revolution against the Soviet Union, that started on October 23. 2,500 Hungarians are killed, 13,000 more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
1962: Operation Dominic-Tightrope: The last atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the United States is detonated 69,000 feet (21 km) above Johnston Island with a yield of less than 20 kilotons.
1979: The Iran hostage crisis, a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States begins. Iranian militants - mostly students - stormed the United States Embassy in Tehran and took approximately 53 Americans captive. This act triggered the most profound crisis of the Carter administration.
1995: Israeli Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Six-Day War of 1967, Yitzhak Rabin, is assassinated by Yigal Amir, a radical right-wing Orthodox Jew who opposed the signing of the Oslo Accords and believed he was saving the country from a dire fate.
11-05-2010, 06:14 AM
1688: The Glorious Revolution, the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau begins with William of Orange coming ashore at Brixham, England. William brought over 11,212 horse and foot and twenty-one 24-pounder cannon.
1757: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Rossbach occurs. Frederick the Great of Prussia, with a 22,000-strong army supported by 79 cannon, defeated the allied Franco-Imperial army numbering some 42,000 men with 45 cannon, led by Charles de Rohan, Prince of Soubise and Prince Joseph Maria Frederick Wilhelm of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Duke in Saxony. The Franco-Imperial allied army lost 5,000 killed or wounded; 5,000 made prisoners. The Prussians lost 169 killed, 379 wounded. Due to Frederick the Great's ingenious operational maneuvers and with about 3,500 horsemen Prussia had defeated an entire army of two combined European powers (France and Holy Roman Empire/Austria).
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1854: During the Crimean War, the Battle of Inkerman occurs. A combined 15,700-strong Anglo-French army with 56 arty pieces under FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan and François Certain de Canrobert, defeated a 134,000-strong Imperial Russian army supported by 134 arty pieces under Prince Aleksandr Sergeyevich Menschikov. Despite being severely outnumbered, the allied troops held their ground. Following this battle, the Russians made no further large-scale attempts to defeat the allies in the field.
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1912: During the First Balkan War, a Greek volunteer force comprised Epirotans and 200 Cretans under the Greek Gendarmerie Major, Spyridon Spyromelios, take Khimárra (modern-day Himarë, Albania) after a brief engagement with the local Ottoman garrison.
WWI-1916: The Act of 5 November of 1916, a declaration of Emperors Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Joseph of Austria, promised the creation of the Kingdom of Poland, envisioned by its authors as a puppet state allied to and controlled by the Central Powers.
1944: British forces land at Thessaloniki, in Greece.
1944: The German 4. Armee (General der Infanterie Friedrich Hoßbach) recapture the town of Goldap in East Prussia.
11-07-2010, 04:59 AM
1185: A Byzantine army under Prōtosébastos (=First-revered one) Alexius Branás, utterly defeats the Normans under their King Wiiliam II of Sicily, commonly known as William the Good, that had been threating Constantinople, on the banks of the Strymon river, in today's Greek Western Thrace. Thessalonica was at once evacuated by Normans.
The monument to the battle in the town of Demetritsa; the town was named after the Byzantine General Demetritsas, slained in the battle
1811: During Tecumseh's War (a conflict between the United States and an American Indian confederacy led by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh), the Battle of Tippecanoe occurs. 500 - 700 warriors of Tecumseh's Confederacy, under Tenskwatawa, were defeated by United States forces (250 infantry, 90 cavalry, 510 militia) led by the Governor of the Territory of Indiana (modern-day State of Indiana) William Henry Harrison. The battle lasted about two hours and Harrison lost 62 men killed, 126 wounded. The number of Native American casualties was lower than that of the United States forces; as many as 50 natives were killed and about 70 - 80 were wounded, but according to the customs of war of the era, they were defeated because they were the first who withdrew the battlefield.
The monument near the place the battle took place
1861: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Belmont occurs. A CSA army of ca 5,000 troops under Gideon Johnson Pillow, was engaged by the 3,114 men of Ulysses S. Grant. It was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the battle proved inconclusive. Union losses were 120 killed, 383 wounded, and 104 captured or missing. Confederate casualties were 105 killed, 419 wounded, 106 captured, and 11 missing.
Brigadier General Grant
WWI-1917: The Third Battle of Gaza concludes with a victory for the Entente. It was a series of actions fought between British Empire forces under Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby and Ottoman forces under the German General Friedrich Freiherr Kreß von Kressenstein. The allies lost 18,000 killed, wounded or missing while the Ottomans lost 13,000 killed, wounded or missing; 12,000 Turks made prisoners.
Allenby's monument in Beersheba
1941: The Soviet Hospital Ship, "Armenia", is sank by German planes while evacuating refugees and wounded military and staff of several Crimea’s hospitals. It is estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 people died in the sinking, including up to 2,000 unregistered passengers who had boarded the ship. Only eight survived.
1975: The Bangladeshi National Solidarity and Revolution Day; it commemorates the 1975 uprising formed by people and soldiers. The uprising, led by Colonel Abu Taher, ended the three day coup organised by General Khaled Mosharraf. It also helped put General Ziaur Rahman, hero of the Bangladesh Liberation War, in power.
Lt. Gen. Ziaur Rahman
11-09-2010, 05:08 AM
1330: During the Hungarian-Wallachian War, the Battle of Posada occurs. 30,000 Hungarians under King Charles Robert I of Anjou-Hungary, were defeated by the ca 10,000 Wallachians of the Prince of Wallachia Basarab I the Founder. The victory represented the survival of the Wallachian state, as well as the beginning of a period of tense relationship between Basarab and the Kingdom of Hungary.
1729: The Treaty of Seville was signed between Great Britain, France, and Spain, concluding the Anglo-Spanish War. Britain maintained control of Port Mahon and Gibraltar.
1799: The coup d'état of 18 Brumaire, year VIII (=9 November, 1799, according to the French Revolutionary Calendar) occurs. General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate. He becomes First Consul, the first of the three Consuls of the tri-partite French Consulate.
1848: The German Revolutionary, Politician and Poet, Robert Blum, who strongly opposed antisemitism and the Prussian occupation of Poland, and was sympathetic to the Hungarian cause in the Hungarian Uprising of October 1848 against Habsburgian rule, is executed in Vienna.
Robert Blum, commemorative plate at fish market, Cologne. The inscription reads: Born at this place on 10 November 1807, shot at Vienna on 9 November, 1848; I die for the German liberty that I fought for. May Fatherland remember me
1867: The Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan came to its official end when Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the 15th Tokugawa Shogun resigned in favour of the Meiji Emperor, thus starting the Meiji Restoration.
The last Shogun of the Tokugawa Shogunate, Tokugawa Yoshinobu
WWI-1914: The Naval Battle of Cocos occurs. The Australian light Cruiser, HMAS "Sydney" (1912) under Captain John Glossop, attacked the Imperial German Navy Light Cruiser SMS "Emden" (1908) under Korvettenkapitän (Lt. Cdr.) Karl von Müller, off the Cocos Islands, in the north east Indian Ocean. After taking extremely heavy damage from almost 100 hits, and suffering dozens of casualties, Müller decided to beach "Emden" on North Keeling Island to avoid sinking. The Germans suffered 131 crew members killed, 65 wounded. The battle was the first single ship action fought by the Royal Australian Navy.
WWI-1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates after the German Revolution, and Germany is proclaimed a Republic.
The last German Emperor of the Hohenzollern dynasty, in 1933
1923: The Munich Putsch (=Coup d'état), the attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923 by the Nazis in Bavaria, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler and other heads of the German National Socialist party tried to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, fails.
Munich Marienplatz during the failed Munich Putsch
1938: The Polish-Jew Herschel Feibel Grynszpan, assassinated the Nazi diplomat Ernst Eduard von Rath in Paris, France. His action, sparked the Kristallnacht (=Night of Broken Glass), the anti-semitic pogrom of 9 - 10 November, 1938 in Nazi Germany and Austria.
1940: After the complete failure of the invasion of Greece by the Italian military, Mussolini replaces General Sebastiano Visconti Prasca with General Ubaldo Soddu, his former Vice-Minister of War.
1941: The German 11. Armee (Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein) captures Yalta in Crimea.
1965: During the Vietnam War, Catholic Worker member Roger Allen LaPorte, protesting against the Vietnam War, sets himself on fire in front of the United Nations building.
Roger Allen LaPorte in flames (http://img573.imageshack.us/img573/769/93891894dotjpg)
1989: Communist-controlled East Germany opens checkpoints in the Berlin Wall allowing its citizens to travel to West Germany. This key event led to the eventual reunification of East and West Germany.
11-10-2010, 04:13 AM
1444: During the Ottoman-Hungarian Wars, the Battle of Varna occurs. A crusader army of 20 - 30,000 crusaders from Poland, Hungary, Wallachia, Moldavia, Lithuania, Bosnia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Teutonic Knights (the Byzantine contingent did not arrive on time) under the King of Poland and Hungary, Władysław III (III Ulászló in Hungarian) and the Hungarian Regent of Hungary, John Hunyadi, commonly known as Ioannes Corvinus, were annihilated by the 60,000 Ottomans of Sultan Murad II Kodja. The battle was fought near Varna in eastern Bulgaria and the crusaders lost 17,000 killed, wounded or captured. Władysław was killed when he rushed 500 of his Polish knights against the Ottoman center. The Ottomans suffered 4,000 killed or wounded. This defeat, set the stage for the fall of Constantinople nine years later. The Ottomans were now free to move significant forces from Central to Eastern and Southern Europe.
The Memorial to the battle. The facade bears the inscription Vladislao Varnensi (Władysław of Varna), the name of the King of Poland and Hungary fell in battle
1659: During the Maratha-Bijalpur War (fought between Maratha and the Bijapur Sultanate which led to the eventual establishment of the Maratha Empire), the Battle of Pratapgad occurs. A Maratha army of ca 15,000 under the overall command of Chhatrapati (=Satrap, Ruler) Shivaji Maharaj and under the tactical command of Netaji Palkar (commander of cavalry) and Moropant Trimbak Pingle (commander of infantry), defeated the ca 30,000-strong Bijapuri force with 85 elephants and 80 - 90 cannon under Afzal Khan. The battle resulted in a hand-to-hand brutal encounter. Bijapuri forces lost their artillery, 65 elephants, 4,000 horses, 5,000 soldiers killed and almost as many wounded. 3,000 soldiers were imprisoned, and the remainder were allowed to go home in defeat. The Marathas lost 1,734 killed, 420 soldiers wounded. This remarkable victory made Shivaji a legendary figure among Maratha people. Having established military dominance and successfully beaten a powerful empire, Shivaji had founded the nucleus of what would become the Maratha Empire in the SW of present-day India.
The conqueror of Pratapgad, Shivaji Maharaj
1775: The United States Marine Corps is founded by Captain Samuel Nicholas at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress.
Major Samuel Nicholas, the First Commandant of USMC and the Corps' Seal
1821: The struggle for the Panamanian independence begins when the population of Los Santos got up against Spanish rulers. It has the tradition that the head of this revolt for freedom was Rufina Alfaro, a young lady of the town, who became the symbol of national independence. She led a march of Panamanian revolutionaries in which she shouted Viva la Libertad (=Long live Freedom). The revolutionaries took the Spanish barracks with stones and sticks and at dawn of 10 November, 1821, they had achieved the desired freedom, without spilling a single drop of blood.
1944: The ammunition ship USS "Mount Hood" (AE-11) (Cdr. Harold A. Turner) explodes at Seeadler Harbour, M****, Admiralty Islands. The repair ship USS "Mindanao" (ARG-3) which was broadside-on to the blast about 300 yards (275 m) away, was heavily damaged by the explosion and 180 men of her crew were killed or injured.
1945: The peak of the Indonesian National Revolution was reached, with the Battle of Surabaya fought between pro-Independence Indonesian soldiers and militia against British and Dutch troops. At dawn on 10 November, a day now commemorated in Indonesia as Heroes' Day, British troops began a methodical advance through the city under the cover of naval and air bombardment. Fighting was heavy with British troops clearing buildings room by room and consolidating their gains. Despite the fanatical resistance of Indonesians, half the city was conquered in three days and the fighting over in three weeks. At least 6,000 Indonesians died and perhaps 200,000 fled the devastated city. British and Indian casualties totalled approximately 600.
1971: In Cambodia, Khmer Rouge forces attack the city of Phnom Penh and its airport, killing 44, wounding at least 30 and damaging nine aircraft.
11-16-2010, 04:48 AM
1776: During the American War for Independence, the Battle of Fort Washington occurs. A 8,000-strong Anglo-Hessian army under Lt. Gen. Wilhelm Reichsfreiherr zu Innhausen und Knyphausen, surrounded and captured Fort Washington, a fortified position near the north end of Manhattan Island, defended by 3,000 American Revolutionaries under Col. Robert Magaw. The Hessians suffered 84 killed, 374 wounded, while American casualties accounted for 59 killed, 96 wounded. 2,838 Americans made prisoners. The British renamed it Fort Knyphausen.
Tablet commemorating the location of Fort Washington
1805: During the War of the Third Coalition, the Battle of Schöngrabern occurs. A 7,300-strong Russian army under Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration, was engaged by the French Murat's Corps (ca 20,600 troops) commanded by the Marshal of France Joachim-Napoléon Murat at Schöngrabern, near Hollabrunn in Lower Austria. After sustaining several French assaults and holding the position for some six hours, Bagration was driven out and executed a skilled and organised withdrawal to retire northeast to join the main Russian army. His skillful defence in the face of superior forces successfully delayed the French enough for the Russian forces of Kutusov and Buxhowden to unite at Brünn on 18 November 1805.
The equestrian statue of Prince Bagration in Moscow
1912: During the First Balkan War, the three-day Battle of Monastir, opens. Following the Ottoman defeat in the Battle of Kumanovo, the Ottoman Vardar Army (Zekki Pasha) retreated towards the city of Monastir (today's Bitola, FYROM). There the Ottomans consolidated their units. The Ottoman 7th Corps (Fetis Pasha) held the left flank; the 6th Corps (Djavid Pasha) held the centre, while the 5th Corps (Kara Said Pasha) held the right. The main part of the Serbian 1st Army (108,544 men under Vojvoda Petar Bojović), strengthened with a division from the 3rd Army, advanced against the city but suffered heavily due to the open and muddy terrain and the heavy Ottoman artillery fire. On 18 November and after successful Serbian counter-artillery fire, the Ottoman guns silenced. The Serbian right flank then pushed past the defences of the Vardar Army and on the 19 the first Serb units entered Monastir. The demoralized Ottomans suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of Monastir. They lost 3,000 men killed or wounded (including Fetis Pasha), almost 10% of their strength. The Serbs suffered ca 2,600 killed or wounded.
The dead crew of an Ottoman arty gun; battle of Monastir
1940: In response to Germany's leveling of Coventry, 131 RAF Bomber Command aircraft make raids on four Hamburg targets.
1942: U.S. and Australian forces join up for the assault on the last Japanese stronghold in Northern Papua, the Buna-Gona bridgehead. When the allies attacked on three fronts beginning on 16 November (the U.S. 32nd Infantry Division commanded by Major General Edwin F. Harding launched the initial attack), they were immediately stymied by the excellent Japanese defensive position.
1942: Greek Submarine RHNS "Triton" (Y-5) commanded by Lt. Cdr. Epaminondas Kontoyannes, was sunk at Kaphereus strait, near Euboea island after giving an heroic battle with German sub chaser UJ 201. In total 23 of her crew died and 30 were captured amongst them her CO. Two escaped swimming to the shore (Chief Petty Officer Marulas and Petty Officer Papademetriu).
1943: Following the British occupation of the Dodecanese island of Leros on 15 September, and the German air aids of the next day, the battle for the control of the strategic importance island culminates in the German invasion of 12 November. On 16 November, the Battle of Leros ends with the capitulation of the last allied defenders. The allies lost 419 dead, 4,800 wounded, 8,500 captured (most of them belonged to the British 234th Infantry Bde). 20 civilians died in the clashes. The Germans lost 520 killed, 5,000 wounded. 115 RAF aircraft lost.
1944: The U.S. First (Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges) and Ninth (Lt. Gen. William Simpson) Armies launch a new attack to the East of Aachen towards the Roer Dams (6 miles/10 km away) with four divisions on a 25-mile (40 km) front.
1944: 5,689 tons of bombs, a record for one day are dropped by the RAF on the German frontline to the East of Aachen.
1989: During the Salvadoran Civil War, a death squad composed of El Salvadoran army troops murdered the three important Jesuit scholars and intellectuals of the Jose Simeon Cañas Central American University, Segundo Montes, Ignacio Ellacuría and Ignacio Martín-Baró, their housekeeper and her daughter; the three men were outspoken against the abuses of the Salvadoran military and government.
11-17-2010, 04:55 AM
1796: During the French Revolutionary Wars, the three-day Battle of the Bridge of Arcole concludes. Napoleon Bonaparte's French Corps of ca 20,000 troops, exercised a bold manoeuvre and outflanked the 24,000-strong Austrian army under Prince Joseph Alvinczi von Borberek and cut its line of retreat. French losses at Arcole numbered 3,500 dead and wounded, plus 1,300 captured or missing. The Austrians suffered only 2,200 dead and wounded, but lost 4,000 men and 11 guns captured.
Napoleon crossing the bridge as flag-bearer
1820: Captain Nathaniel Brown Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica (the Palmer Peninsula is later named after him).
1912: During the First Balkan War, the siege of Adrianople (modern-day Edirne, on the European part of Turkey) opens. The defences of the city were carefully developed by leading German siege experts and were dubbed impenetrable. The siege was carried out by the Bulgarian 2nd Army (General Nikola Ivanov); its eastern sector was commanded by General Georgi Vazov (overall strength 106,425 Bulgarians with 424 arty pieces) and the Serbian 2nd Army (47,275 Serbs with 62 arty pieces, 34 Schneider howitzers of 120 and 150 mm, under Vojvoda Stepa Stepanović). By December, the defenders of Adrianople had grown to 75,000 Ottoman troops under Shukru Pasha.
Serbian Siege Artillery
1968: The 29-year old Greek soldier (later politician and poet) Alexandros Panagules, while serving his compulsory military service, deserted from the Greek military and fled to Cyprus. In the summer of '68 returns secretly from his exile in Cyprus and with the help of his collaborators of the underground resistance group, National Resistance, organized on 13 August 1968 an assassination attempt against the head of the military coup in Greece, Col. Georgios Papadopulos. Panagules' attempt failed, he was captured, put on trial and on 17 November 1968 condemned to death by court-martial.
Panagules argued: I didn’t want to kill a man. I’m not capable of killing a man. I wanted to kill a tyrant
1973: The Athens Polytechnic Uprising against the military regime ends in a bloodshed in the Greek capital. On 15 November hundreds of students assembled in the courtyard of the Techical University in protest against the military regime. Finally they barricaded themselves in the neo-classical building. At 02:30 in the morning of 17 November, tanks gather outside the Techical University, while thousands of students are inside the institution. At 02:45 a tank crashes through the gate of the Athens Polytechnic and Army and Police enter the institution suppressing the Uprising. The student uprising of the Polytechnic is regarded as a valiant act of resistance against the military dictatorship, and therefore as a symbol of resistance to tyranny.
1989: The Velvet Revolution, the non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the authoritarian Communist government begins. It will end on 29 December with the election of Václav Havel, the first non-communist President of Czechoslovakia since 1948.
11-21-2010, 06:05 AM
164 BC: During the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire, Judah Maccabee removed the pagan statuary from the Temple in Jerusalem, thus restoring the Jewish worship. This event is commemorated each year by the festival of Hanukkah (=Dedication).
1894: During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Port Arthur massacre occurs. Advanced elements of the 1st Division of the Japanese 2nd Army massacred from 1,500 to 6,000 Chinese servicemen and civilians, leaving only 36 to bury bodies in the Chinese coastal city of Port Arthur (now Lüshun Port, Liaoning province, China).
1910: The mostly black crews of four Brazilian warships, the "Minas Geraes" (1907), "São Paulo" (1909), "Bahia" (1910) and the older coastal defense ship "Deodoro", led by João Cândido Felisberto, mutinied due to the racism prevalent in all branches of the Brazilian armed forces, and the severe discipline enforced on all navy ships, deposed their white officers, and threatened to bombard Rio de Janeiro. The mutiny - commonly known as the Revolt of the Whip - was resolved within a week. João Cândido Felisberto - an experienced sailor later known as the Black Admiral - who led the revolt, was captured and held at a psychriatric hospital as "crazy". On 24 July 2008, thirty-nine years after João Cândido's death, the Brazilian Congress, pardoned him and the instigators of the 1910 mutiny.
The statue of João Cândido Felisberto in Rio de Janeiro
WWI-1916: The Hospital ship, HMHS "Britannic", the sister ship of RMS "Olympic" and RMS "Titanic", sinks after hitting a mine in the Aegean sea, killing 30 people.
1920: During the Irish War of Independence, Bloody Sunday occurs. Following an Irish Republican Army (IRA) operation that led to the killing of 14 British Intelligence agents and Royal Irish Constabulary officers, British forces opened fire on the crowd at a Gaelic football match in Croke Park, killing fourteen Irish civilians. That evening, three IRA prisoners in Dublin Castle were beaten and killed by their British captors, allegedly while trying to escape.
1943: Generalfeldmarschall Kesselring is appointed C-in-C of all German forces in Italy, while Rommel leaves his command to organise the Atlantic wall.
1944: Albanian patriots free the capital of Albania, Tirana.
1962: The Chinese PLA declares a unilateral cease-fire in the Sino-Indian War, a border conflict between India and China opened on 20 October and fought in attrocious conditions, since much of the fighting took place at altitudes of over 4,250 metres (14,000 ft). Indian losses numbered ca 2,500 killed or wounded, 1,700 missing, 4,000 Captured. The Chinese lost ca 2,500 killed or wounded. According to China's official military history, the war achieved China's policy objectives of securing borders in its western sector, as China retained de facto control of the Aksai Chin. In India, the aftermath of the war saw sweeping changes in the Indian military to prepare it for similar conflicts in the future.
1970: During the Vietnam War, Operation Ivory Coast, the attempt to rescue American POW held at Son Tay, North Vietnam by Army Special Forces on Air Force HH-53 helicopters, who would fly to the raid site and extract the POW to safety, occurs. USAF Brig. Gen. Leroy J. Manor was selected as the overall mission commander, while Col. Arthur Simons would lead the ground forces. The entire operation included two MC-130, one HC-130, five Sikorsky HH-53, one Bell UH-1, one Sikorsky HH-3, and five Douglas A-1E Skyraider attack aircraft. The mission failed when it was found during the raid that all the prisoners had been previously moved to another camp. The U.S. SF suffered only two wounded, while they lost one helicopter and one airplane. NVA losses are estimated to 50 killed or wounded.
1971: Prior to the Indo-Pakistani War, the two-day Battle of Garibpur begins. The Indian 14th Punjab Btn supported by a squadron of 14 PT-76 tanks from 45 Cavalry, under Lt. Col. R.K. Singh, while moving in to capture the areas around Garibpur inside Pakistani territory, were engaged by the Pakistani 107 Infantry Brigade, supported by 3rd Independent Armoured Squadron, equipped with M24 Chaffee light tanks. The Indians lost 30 killed, 4 tanks destroyed. The Pakistanis suffered 180 killed, 30 tanks destroyed. The battle was one of the first engagements between India and Pakistan prior to the official initiation of hostillities on 3 December 1971.
1985: United States Navy intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard is arrested for spying after being caught giving Israel classified information on Arab nations. He is subsequently sentenced to life in prison.
11-23-2010, 05:06 AM
1248: During the Reconquista, forces of King Fernando III of Castile won victory over the Moors and take Seville.
King Fernando III of Castille is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church
1808: During the Peninsular War, the Battle of Tudela occurs. A 31,000-strong Franco-Polish force under Jean Lannes, 1st Duc de Montebello, 1st Sovereign Prince de Sievers, defeated the 19,000 Spaniards of Don Francisco Javier Castaños, 1st Duke of Bailén, at Tudela, Navarre. 4,000 Spanish soldiers were killed or wounded, compared to only 650 French or Polish casualties.
There is a legend about this battle engraved on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
1863: During the American Civil War, the three-day Battle of Chattanooga begins. On 23 - 24 November, Union forces struck out and captured Orchard Knob and Lookout Mountain. On November 25, Union soldiers assaulted and carried the seemingly impregnable Confederate position on Missionary Ridge. One of the Confederacy’s two major armies was routed. The Federals held Chattanooga, the Gateway to the Lower South, which became the supply and logistics base for Sherman’s 1864 Atlanta Campaign. The U.S. suffered ca 5,800 killed or wounded. The C.S. casualties accounted for 6,670 killed or wounded.
1940: Romania signs the Tripartite Pact and officially becomes Axis Power.
Romanian troops; Stalingrad, 1942
1946: During the First Indochina War, the Vietnamese port city of Hải Phòng is bombarded by the French fleet killing from 2,000 to 6,000 Vietnamese civilians in one afternoon.
1985: Gunmen, from the Abu Nidal Organization, hijack EgyptAir Flight 648 while en route from Athens to Cairo. The subsequent raid on the aircraft by Egyptian troops in Malta, led to 60 deaths, making the hijacking of Flight 648 one of the deadliest such incidents in history.
11-23-2010, 06:21 AM
62nd birthday of the Royal Australian Regiment.
11-24-2010, 05:56 AM
1542: During the Anglo-Scottish Wars, the Battle of Solway Moss occurs. A ca 3,000-strong English army under Thomas Wharton, 1st Baron Wharton defeated a Scottish army of ca 15 - 18,000 Scots led by Robert Maxwell, 5th Lord Maxwell. The two armies met near the River Esk on the English side of the Anglo-Scottish Border. Only 7 Englishmen were killed compared to 20 Scots killed in the battle, hundreds drowned and 1,200 Scottish troops taken prisoners.
1835: The Texas Provincial Government authorizes the creation of a horse-mounted police force called the Texas Rangers, with Robert McAlpin Williamson as their first Major, a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction based in Austin, the capital of Texas, in the United States.
1850: During the First Schleswig War, the Battle of Lottorf occurs. Two Companies of the Schleswig-Holstein 11th Infantry Battalion attacked the Danish outpost in the village of Lottorf. The Danes suffered no losses at all, while the Schleswig force had one soldier killed and one wounded.
1940: The First Slovak Republic, a client state of Nazi Germany signs the Tripartite treaty. Slovakia officially becomes an Axis power.
Jozef Tiso, the Clerofascist leader of the First Slovak Republic, a puppet fascist state, ally of Nazi Germany
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Greek cavalry pursuits the Italians beyond Korçë: One entire Italian division has broken in disorder and three further Italian battalions had been scattered and were being pursuit by the Greeks. Greek advanced units reach the outskirts of Pogradec, some 32 km (20 miles) N of Korçë, on the shores of Lake Ohrid. The small mountain town of Muskopol, 16 km (10 miles) NW of Korçë, falls to the Greeks who continue their advance towards Elbasan.
Greek Cavalryman in the Greco-Italian War; He's armed with the 7.35x52 mm Mannlicher-Carcano M1938 bolt action Carbine, wears the Adrian helmet and carries the M1887 Cavalry Sabre
1942: The Red Army begins an offensive against Heeresgruppe Don (Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein) toward Kotelnikovo, breaking through the lines of 4th Romanian Army (Gen. Constantin Constantinescu-Claps).
Romanian troops in Kotelnikovo
1943: Escort Aircraft Carrier USS "Liscome Bay" (CVE-56) (Cpt. I.D. Wiltsie) is torpedoed near Tarawa. Only 272 of her crew of 916 were rescued.
1944: The allies cross the Saar near the Franco-German border. Troops of the French First Army (Gen. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny) capture Mühlhausen/Mulhouse in Alsace, while the French 2nd Armoured Division (Gen. Philippe Leclerc) takes Strasbourg.
1944: 88 USAAF Boeing B-29 heavy bombers from Saipan Island in Pacific, bomb Tokyo for first time, but to little effect.
1951: During the Korean War, the second day of the three-day offensive launched by the Chinese against elements of the Royal 22e Régiment (the Van Doos) on Hill 335 in Korea, is fought.
11-25-2010, 05:31 AM
1177: The Battle of Montgisard occurs. A crusader army of several thousand troops from the Kingdom of Jerusalem, under the 16-year old King Baldwin IV, seriously afflicted by leprosy, defeated the 26,000-strong Ayyubid army under Sultan Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, commonly known as Saladin, at Mons Gisardi, near the modern-day city of Ramla, Israel. The Ayyubid force was routed and their casualties were massive.
1826: The sister ship of the American Frigate, USS "Hudson", a 64-gun superfrigate (with thirty-two 42-pounder carronades on the spar deck and thirty-two 32-pounder guns on the main deck) is delivered to Greece. She will become the flagship of the Revolutionary Greek Navy under the name "Hellas".
1905: The Danish Prince Carl, of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, arrives in Norway to become King Haakon VII of Norway, the first king of independent Norway after the 1905 dissolution of the personal union with Sweden.
The coronation of King Haakon VII and Queen Maud on 22 June 1906
WWI-1917: The Battle of Negomano, fought between a German force, consisting of 1,500 - 2,000 Askari (=local troops in East Africa, Northeast Africa, and Central Africa serving in the armies of European colonial powers) and German troops, under Paul Emil von Lettow-Vorbeck, and the Portuguese, occurs. The Germans invaded Portuguese East Africa and defeated a Portuguese contingent of roughly 1,000 men, comprised local and European soldiers, under João Teixeira Pinto at Negomano (modern-day Ngomano, Mozambique). The German casualties were light, with only a few Askaris and one German killed. The Portuguese, on the other hand, had suffered a massive defeat: 200 troops were killed or wounded, 700 made prisoners.
1936: Nazi Germany and the Japanese Empire, sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, directed against the Communist International (Comintern), an organ of the USSR.
Japanese ambassador to Nazi Germany, Viscount Kintomo Mushakoji and foreign minister of Nazi Germany Joachim von Ribbentrop sign the Anti-Comintern Pact
1940: First flight of the deHavilland Mosquito and Martin B-26 Marauder.
1942: During Operation Harling, (the cutting off, of the enemy-controlled route between Thessaloniki and Athens in Greece) the blowing up of the railroad bridge leading from Athens to Thessaloniki, occurs on the night of 25 - 26 November. 150 Greek partisans, following plans drawn by Edmund Charles Wolf Myers, commonly known by his nickname Eddie Myers, and assisted by a group of British SOE officers, which included Christopher Montague Woodhouse, 5th Baron Terrington, blew up the railroad bridge of Gorgopótamos. The blast ruined two of the six poles of the bridge. In reprisal, the German occupation forces executed 16 Greek locals. The area around the bridge has been designated a national monument.
1973: Georgios Papadopoulos, head of the military Regime of the Colonels in Greece, is ousted in a hardliners' coup led by Brigadier General Demetrios Ioannidies.
The old (left) and the new dictator
11-26-2010, 06:05 AM
1476: Vlad III Dracula defeats the Dormitor (=ruler) of Wallachia, Basarab III with the help of the Moldavian Prince, Stephen the Great and the Hungarian voivode of Transylvania, Stephen V Báthory, and becomes the ruler of Wallachia for the third time.
bust statue of Vlad Dracula in his birthplace, Sighisoara, Romania
1865: During the Chincha Islands War (a series of coastal and naval battles between Spain and its former colonies of Peru and Chile) the Naval Battle of Papudo occurs. The Chilean corvette "Esmeralda", commanded by Juan Williams Rebolledo, while flying British colours, engaged the Spanish ship "Virgen de Covadonga", under the command of Luis Fery, 48 nm N of Valparaiso, Chile, near the coastal town of Papudo. The Spaniards thought that the ship may have been one of the similarly-built British vessels and did not open fire first. The battle lasted only half an hour and the Spaniards suffered 4 crewmen killed and 22 wounded. 122 crewmen crewmen captured (including Cdr. Fery).
The Esmeralda (left) and the Virgen de Covadonga
1912: During the First Balkan War, the Battle of Driskos occurs. A Garibaldini (=Italian volunteers fought for Greece in the wars of 1897 and 1912 against the Ottoman Empire; they formed a battalion of 1,100 "red-coats", commanded by the youngest son of Giuseppe Garibaldi, Ricciotti) force, under the Greek volunteer, Alexandros Romas, advanced against a strong Ottoman force, positioned themselves at Driskos, a hill near the Epirotan capital, Ioannina, in the Epirotan sector of the Greek front. The battle was successful from a Greek point of view. Amongst the Greek dead was the 53-year old poet, patriot, parliamentarian and famous chess player, Lorenzo Mabilis (or Mavilis).
The Garibaldini colours and a Garibaldini officer; First Balkan War
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Battle of Pogradec, a town situated on the shores of Ohrid lake, on the Albano-Yugoslav border, opens. The battle was a stiff one because the Italians had heavily fortified the town. A heavy Greek artillery bombardment was followed by bayonet charges launched by the divisions of the Greek C' Corps (Χ, ΙΧ and ΧV Divisions under Lt. Gen. Georgios Tsolákoglu) for four days. On 1 December the first Greek troops entered the town, which was now in ruins after the concentrated shelling. The Greeks inflicted heavy losses on the Italians who were reported to be on full retreat further to the north so as to avoid encirclement and total defeat. The Battle of Pogradec cost the Greeks 3,000 killed, wounded or missing and concluded on 10 December.
The midfielder of Panathinaikos FC and star of the pre-war football team, Demetrios "Mimes" Pierrakos, was killed in this battle. His remains repatriated after ten years and received a proper hero's burial in November 1950, in Athens, Greece
1943: German occupying forces round-up and massacre 118 male residents of the village of Monodendri in Laconia, Greece. 89 were prominent members of the Spartan society.
The memorial to the massacre
1943: A strong ELAS (=Greek People's Liberation Army) force comprised infantry and cavalry launch an attack against German forces in Nevropolis, in Thessaly, Greece. The Germans are overrun and forced to fold back to the towns of Karditsa and Trikala, with serious losses. The insurgents suffered 75 killed or wounded.
1950: During the Korean War, troops from the People's Republic of China launch a massive counterattack in North Korea against South Korean and United Nations forces: Between dark and midnight of 25 - 26 November, two Chinese People's Volunteer Army Regiments, attacked the U.S. 9th Infantry, 2 Infantry Division, in the Ch'ongch'on Valley from the N, while a third attacked the center of U.S. 38th Infantry, 2 Infantry Division, positioned on the Paengnyong River. At the same time another Chinese People's Volunteer Army Regiment attacked U.S. 9th Infantry's positions from the NE. By noon of 26 November, ROK II Corps' 7th and 8th Divisions had been overrun and ROK II Corps was retreating in mass.
Chinese forces swarm a UN position
2008: The first of the more than 10 co-ordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai - India's largest city - by Islamic terrorists, known as the 2008 Mumbai attacks, occurs. The Pakistan-based terrorists will eventually kill 164 and injure more than 300 people in Mumbai.
11-27-2010, 04:46 AM
1868: During the American Indian Wars, the Battle of Wa****a River occurs. Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S. Cavalry, attacked Black Kettle’s Southern Cheyenne camp on the Wa****a River, near present day Cheyenne, Oklahoma. The U.S. suffered 13 killed, 21 wounded, while Custer's men found the bodies of 103 Native American warriors. Many modern historians though, consider the destruction of Black Kettle's village too one-sided to be called a battle.
Maj. Gen. Custer
1940: General Carlo Geloso, the CO of Italian 11th Army in Albania, notifies Italian C-in-C, General Umbaldo Soddu, that a new line of defence is chosen in the hope of avoiding the loss - even temporerarily - of Sarandë, Gjirokastër and Përmet in Albania. Italian forces - according to General Geloso - are exhausted and their efficiency is reduced by 70%.
1940: The British Admiralty decides to send the Battleship HMS "Ramillies" (07) and two Cruisers from the Mediterranean fleet to reinforce the Atlantic fleet. They are to sail to Malta with a supply convoy, link up with Force H and then sail onto Gibraltar. Just as the reach the rendezvous point, off Cape Spartivento in Sardinia, the "Ramillies", the two Cruisers, the Aircraft Carrier HMS "Ark Royal" (91) and ten Destroyers are intercepted by Admiral Inigo Campioni's squadron of two Battleships, seven Cruisers and sixteen Destroyers. However, as soon as the Battlecruiser HMS "Renown" (1916) from Force H joined in, the Italians withdrew with one Cruiser and two Destroyers damaged, while the British suffered damage to the heavy Cruiser HMS "Berwick" (65).
1942: The French scuttle 79 warships docked at Toulon as German troops enter the City, but four submarines manage to escape.
1944: The Red Army breaks through the German-Hungarian defensive lines and captures the Hungarian town of Mohács (the place of two major battles in history: The battles of Mohács of 1526 and 1687).
11-29-2010, 05:08 AM
1807: During the Peninsular War, the Prince-Regent, Queen and the entire Royal Family of Portugal boarded on fifteen ships, escorted by English warships concentrated on the Tagus, accompanied by many rich merchants, the administration, judges and servants. Approximately 10,000 people, including the entire governmental apparatus, joined the Royal Family as they moved to Brazil, to escape from Napoleonic troops.
General Jean-Andoche Junot's forces crossed the border to conquer Portugal in order to partition it
1830: The November Uprising, an armed rebellion against the Russian Empire in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine, instigated by young Commissioned Officers at the Imperial Russian Army's military academy in Warsaw, begins.
1845: During the Swiss Civil War, the Sonderbund (="separate alliance" in German; an alliance formed by seven Catholic cantons in order to protect their interests against a centralization of power) is defeated by a Swiss federal army of 100,000 troops, led by General Guillaume-Henri Dufour in a campaign that lasted for 26 days. In 1848, a new Swiss Federal Constitution ended the almost-complete independence of the cantons and transformed Switzerland into a federal state. The Jesuits were banished from Switzerland.
1847: Missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa, and 15 others are attacked and massacred by Cayuse and Umatilla tribal members causing the Cayuse War, an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the U.S. Government and local Oregon Volunteers. The Cayuse were defeated, their numbers reduced and most of their tribal lands were confiscated.
50th Anniversary of the Whitman Massacre, 1897
1864: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Spring Hill occurs. The Confederate Army of Tennessee, commanded by Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood and numbering some 12,000 troops, attacked a 7,000-strong Union force under Maj. Gen. John M. Schofield. Because of a series of command failures, the Confederates were unable to inflict serious damage on the Federals (the battle of Spring Hill was a minor affair in terms of casualties; about 350 Union and 500 Confederate soldiers were killed or wounded).
1872: With the Battle of Lost River, the Modoc War (a conflict between the Native American Modoc tribe and the U.S. Army in southern Oregon and northern California from 1872 - 1873) begins. A U.S. 1st Cavalry Regiment force comprised 40 troopers fought a short battle with about 100 Modoc near the Lost River along the California-Oregon border. The casualties in this short battle included one U.S. soldier killed and seven wounded, and two Modoc killed and three wounded.
1929: U.S. Lt. Cdr. Richard Byrd becomes the first person to fly over the South Pole. Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the American three-engined transport plane, Ford Trimotor from his base camp named Little America, constructed on the Ross Ice Shelf, to the South Pole and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes.
1941: Depleted by continuous savage fighting, blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, the offensive launched by Heeresgruppe Mitte (=Army Group Centre) (Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock) begins to grind to a halt as German units find it increasingly difficult to make ground. The Soviets launch a counter-attack at Rostov-on-Don, forcing the Germans to evacuate the city and withdraw west towards the river Mius.
1943: The second session of AVNOJ, the Anti-fascist council of national liberation of Yugoslavia, is held in Jajce, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The decisions and the resolutions of the second AVNOJ conference were, amongst others:
-to create a federal Yugoslavia, based on the right of self-determination of nations, in which the southern Slavic peoples would live in six constituent republics with equal rights
-to name Tito, Marshal of Yugoslavia and Prime Minister
-to deny King Petar II Karadzordzevic’s return to the country until a popular referendum had been held on the status of the monarchy.
1944: Soviet troops cross Danube into southwest Hungary, making large gains.
1950: During the Korean War, the Chinese People's Volunteer 40th Army attacked in force the Turks at dawn of 29 November. It soon became clear the Ch'ongch'on defence line could not be held so a general withdrawal of all units back to the Sunch'on line was ordered. Turkish forces, in bayonet fighting, stopped the Chinese advance near Kunu-ri. American, South Korean, British and Turkish troops on the west coast fight desperately to keep from being surrounded and cut off by the Chinese central thrust.
Soldiers of the Turkish Brigade move into position in December 1950, shortly after suffering severe casualties attempting to block encirclement of the U.S. 2nd Division at the Ch'ongch'on river in North Korea
1990: The United Nations Security Council passes United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, authorizing use all necessary means to uphold and implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 to restore international peace and security if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by 15 January 1991.
2007: The Armed Forces of the Philippines lay siege to The Peninsula Manila hotel after soldiers led by Senator Antonio Trillanes stage a mutiny.
11-30-2010, 04:56 AM
1700: During the Great Northern War, the Battle of Narva occurs. A Swedish army of some 10,500 troops, commanded personally by King Carl XII, assisted by General Carl Gustav Rehnskiöld, defeated a Russian siege force three times its size under Tsar Peter the Great and Field Marshal Karl Yevgeny de Croy, at Narva in Estonia. The Swedes suffered 700 - 900 killed, 1,200 wounded while the Russians lost 8,000 - 10,000 killed or wounded and 20,000 captured. 180 Russian cannon and 230 Russian Imperial standards were also captured by the Swedes.
The Swedish monument to the battle in Narva
1853: During the Crimean War, the Naval Battle of Sinop occurs. A fleet of Imperial Russian warships comprised 6 ships of the line, 2 frigates, 3 steamers under Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Nakhimov, struck and annihilated a patrol force of 14 Ottoman ships anchored in the harbour of Sinop on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black Sea coast (the ancient Paphlagonian port city of Sinōpē). Once the Ottoman fleet was destroyed the Russians engaged Ottoman coastal batteries and destroyed them. The Russians lost 37 killed and 233 wounded; at least three of their ships were damaged. Ottoman forces lost over 3,000 men killed or wounded and their leader Osman Pasha was captured. The battle was a contributory factor in bringing France and Britain into the conflict.
1864: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Franklin occurs. It was one of the worst disasters of the war for the Confederate States Army. The Army of Tennessee, numbering some 30,000 men, led by General John Bell Hood, mounts a dramatically unsuccessful frontal assault on Union positions of the 38,000-strong Ohio Army, commanded by General John McAllister Schofield around Franklin, Tennessee. Hood lost six generals and almost a third of his troops. The assault at Franklin is frequently known as the Pickett's Charge of the West in reference to the Confederate assault at *****sburg.
1939: After negotiations between the USSR and Finland over territorial dispute reach deadlock and breaking off diplomatic relations, the Soviet Union attacks Finland by land and air without declaring war. Soviet forces invaded Finland with 21 divisions, totaling some 450,000 men, and bombed Helsinki killing 91 civilians. Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov was in command of the operation. The Finnish main defensive line, which became known as the Mannerheim Line, numbered some 130,000 Finns. C-in-C of the Finnish forces was Marshal Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim. The Winter War opens.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Greeks launch a strong offensive against the remaining Italians occupying the Pogradec valley; the Italians defend their positions desperately yet soon are forced to retire, with serious losses. The Greeks captured six heavy arty pieces, fifty machine-guns, considerable quantity of mortars (especially the 45 mm Brixia M35 light mortar) and other material. 15 Italian officers and 200 other ranks, made prisoners.
Greek military, train its troops on how to use the captured, Italian made, Brixia light mortars; photos found here: http://greek-war-equipment.blogspot.com/
1942: The Naval Battle of Tassafaronga, near the Tassafaronga area on Guadalcanal, occurs. A Japanese squadron of 8 destroyers under Rear-Admiral Raizo Tanaka, defeated a larger U.S. Navy force comprised 5 cruisers, 4 destroyers, commanded by Rear-Admiral Carleton Herbert Wright, in a nighttime naval engagement. The U.S. suffered 1 cruiser sunk, 3 cruisers heavily damaged, 395 crewmen killed or drowned. The Japanese lost 1 destroyer sunk with 197 crewmen killed or drowned.
The victor, Rear-Admiral Tanaka
1942: Greek Submarine RHNS "Papanikolis" (Y-2) (Lt. Cdr. Nikolaos Russen) attacks and sinks, off the harbour of Alimnia islet, Dodecanese, a 8,000-ton German freighter. She also sinks a number of German and Italian sailers, in fact she took prisoner one of them (220 tons).
1950: During the Korean War, the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division withdraws from Kunu-ri and begins a two-day nightmare struggle as the division has to fight through roadblock after roadblock on the narrow road leading south, which became known as The Gauntlet. The U.S. 1st Marine Division begins its famous fighting withdrawal from Chosin Reservoir. The U.S. 5th and 7th Marines begin fighting their way to the 1st Marine Division command post at Hagari. They finally make it (4 December) after fighting their way in subfreezing temperatures. U.N. casualties reach 4,300 killed or wounded since the opening of the Chinese massive counter-attack on 26 November. Most of the wounded are frostbite victims.
12-01-2010, 04:59 AM
1826: During the Greek War of Independence, French philhellene Charles Nicolas Fabvier, commanding 480 troops, forces his way through the Turkish cordon and ascends the Acropolis of Athens, which had been under siege for quite some time. He'll deliver a one-month supply of gunpowder to the defenders of the besieged Acropolis and will remain there, until its capture by the Ottomans in May 1827.
Greek Infantryman of Charles Nicolas Fabvier's Tactical
1913: The Greek flag is raised by King Constantine and PM Eleutherios Venizelos on Phirka Fort in Canea, Crete, before a delirious crowd that is gathered in the port area. Crete unites with Greece.
1918: Transylvania proclaims union with Romania, following the incorporation of Bessarabia (27 March) and Bukovina (28 November).
1,228 official Transylvanian delegates arrived to Alba Iulia to sign the resolution for the unification of Transylvania with Romania
1918: The new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is proclaimed by the Prince-Regent Alexander I Karadzordzevic. The new Kingdom was made up of the formerly independent kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro, as well as a substantial amount of territory that was formerly part of Austria - Hungary: Bosnia, Croatia, Herzegovina and Slovenia.
The Flag and CoA of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
1925: The final of the seven Locarno Treaties is formally signed in London by the WWI European Allied powers and the new states of Central and Eastern Europe, and the defeated Germany (which was, by this time, the Weimar Republic). The Locarno Treaties were an early attempt at disarmament.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Greeks push further north, towards Elbasan and in the central sector, they are pressing the Italians back, towards Berat. For the first time since the beginning of hostilities, Greek waships shelled the Albanian port city of Sarandë. Well-armed Albanian bands help Greeks in their penetration in Albania. The situation is serious, according to Mussolini, it might even become tragic (Cabinet Meeting of 1 December 1940; Count Galeazzo Ciano's Diary).
1943: The British X Corps (Lt. Gen. John Hawkesworth) opens the U.S. Fifth Army's (Lt. Gen. Mark Wayne Clark) offensive on the German Gustav Line, just north of where the Garigliano River flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Moroccan Goumiers in Garigliano
1950: During the Korean War, the British Commonwealth Brigade, which attacked north from Sunch'on to link up with U.S. 2nd Infantry Division to help it withdraw, is stopped on the same mountain roads by Chinese forces. The Chinese virtually wipe out the U.S. 9th and 38th Infantry Regiments on the retreat route. By the time the remnants of the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division reach the British lines, nearly a third of its strength is lost, about 5,000 men. Task Force Faith, part of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division and named for its commander, Lt. Col. Don Carlos Faith, Jr., begins to fight its way from the east bank of the Chosin Reservoir to Hagari to join up with the U.S. 1st Marine Division. The task force reaches Hadong, fighting in frigid temperatures of -35° F (-37° C) only to find that the expected regimental tank company had already retreated to Hagari. It is then hit by an all-out Chinese attack. Lt. Col. Faith is killed. Only 385 of the original 3,200-man task force make it to U.N. lines. Faith was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
The Chinese overran this position the previous night, and American dead are in the foreground, killed in their sleeping bags
1989: The right-wing military rebel Reform the Armed Forces Movement attempts to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino in a failed bloody coup d'état. The coup was led by Colonel Gregorio Honasan, General Edgardo Abenina, and retired General Jose Zumel.
12-03-2010, 05:17 AM
1800: During the War of the Second Coalition, the Battle of Hohenlinden occurs. A 54,000-strong French army, comprised 42,000 infantry, 12,000 cavalry, with 99 cannon, under General Jean Victor Marie Moreau, defeated an Austro-Bavarian army consisting of 46,000 infantry, 14,000 cavalry with 214 cannon commanded by the Austrian Archduke, John. The Austrians lost 11,700 killed, wounded or captured, with 50 cannon and 85 artillery caissons captured. The Bavarians lost only 24 killed, 90 wounded but their losses also included 1,754 prisoners, 26 artillery pieces, and 36 caissons. The French lost 3,000 killed or wounded. This crushing victory, coupled with First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte's victory at the Battle of Marengo on 14 June 1800, effectively forced the Austrians to sign an armistice and end the war.
The conqueror of Hohenlinden, General Jean Moreau; in 1806 he broke faith with Napoleon and was banished to the U.S.
1854: During the Eureka Rebellion (an organised rebellion by gold miners at Eureka Lead in Ballarat Goldfields, Victoria, Australia), the Battle of Eureka Stockade occurs. On 30 November, some 500 Australian diggers under Peter Fintan Lalor, took an oath on the Southern Cross flag to defend the Stockade. Early in the morning of Sunday 3 December, the British 12th and 40th Regiments with Victoria Police Troopers, launched an attack on the Stockade. The battle was over in twenty minutes. Twenty-two diggers and five troops were killed. The Eureka rebellion is considered by some historians to be the birthplace of Australian democracy.
The Eureka Flag based on the constellation of the Southern Cross. It has been used as a symbol of protest by organisations and individuals at both ends of the political spectrum in Australia
1912: During the First Balkan War, the Naval Battle of Elli occurs. A Royal Hellenic Navy fleet comprised the armoured cruiser RHNS "Georgios Averof", three coastal defence battleships and four destroyers, led by Rear-Admiral Pavlos Kunduriótes, defeated an Imperial Ottoman fleet consisting of the Battleships RS "Barbaros Hayreddin" and RS "Turgut Reis", one armoured corvette, one protected cruiser and four destroyers, under Ramiz Bey, off the Dardanelles. Admiral Kunduriótes, frustrated by the slow speed of the three older Greek battleships, hoisted the Flag Signal for the letter Z which stood for Independent Action, and sailed forward alone at a speed of 20 knots, against the Ottoman fleet. Both Greek and Ottoman forces suffered minor damage during the engagement, but the Ottomans were unable to break through the Greek fleet and retired back into the Dardanelles. The Ottomans suffered 59 crewmen killed or wounded. 2 Greek crewmen were killed.
The signal sent by Admiral Kunduriótes from his flagship "Georgios Averof" to the fleet, at the start of the Battle of Elli: By the power of God and with the wishes of the King and in the name of justice, I sail with unstoppable force and with confidence about victory against the enemy of the nation
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, some fifty tanks of the Italian Centauro Division, attacked up the valley of the River Dhrino. They succeded in making a bulge in the Greek line but Italian infantry could not exploit this. The severe struggle in the mountainous region W of Pogradec continued. The obstinate resistance offered by the Italians in the area N of Përmet was crushed by intensive Greek artillery fire and Greek infantry entered the town of Përmet. 500 Italians were captured, six heavy artillery guns, abundant material fell into Greek hands.
The Italian made Carro Veloce CV-35 Tankette and Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 were the only armoured vehicles the Italians used in their invasion of Greece, due to the Greek harsh and mountainous terrain
1942: Several German divisions ordered to be transferred from Western Europe begin arriving in the area of Heeresgruppe Don (=Army Group Don) (Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein) NW of Stalingrad in preparation of Operation Winter Tempest, the relief of the encircled 6. Armee (General der Panzertruppen Friedrich Paulus).
1944: The December events begin in Athens, Greece: During a demonstration organised by EAM (=National Liberation Front; EAM was organized by the Greek Communist Party and other smaller parties) that involved from 100,000 to 250,000 people, Greek Police and British troops panicked and opened fire to the crowd, killing more than 28 demonstrators and injuring 148. A 37-day period of full-scale fighting in Athens between EAM fighters and smaller parts of ELAS, and the forces of the British Army and the Greek government, begin. The Greek Civil War opens.
1944: Armoured units of the U.S. 3rd Army (Gen. George S. Patton) succeed in penetrating the fortified German lines of the Westwall (Sigfried Line) near Saarlautern/Saarlouis.
1971: Pakistan launched an air attack in the western sector of Indo-Pakistani border on a number of Indian airfields, including Ambala in Haryana, Amritsar in Punjab, and Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir. A full scale war begins between the two countries (Indo-Pakistani War of 1971). On the evening, the Pakistani army launched ground operations in Kashmir and Punjab. It also started an armoured operation in Rajasthan. The Chhamb area witnessed a particularly intense battle where the Pakistanis forced the Indians to withdraw from their positions. Two Pakistani tank regiments, equipped with U.S.-made Patton tanks, confronted the Indian First Armoured Corps, which had British Centurion tanks. In what proved to be the largest tank battle of the war, both sides suffered considerable casualties.
12-04-2010, 04:54 AM
306: Barbara, the young daughter of a rich pagan named Dioscorus, is martyred for her Christian belief, during the reign of Roman Emperor Galerius Maximi****, in Nicomedia (modern-day İzmit, Turkey). Saint Barbara became the patron saint of artillerymen and Saint Barbara's day is celebrated by many armed forces throughout the world; more specifically by, the British Royal Artillery, RAF Armourers, Australian Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, RAAF Armourers, Canadian Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technicians, Canadian Air Force Armourers, Royal Canadian Artillery, Canadian Military Field Engineers, New Zealand RNZAF Armourers, RNZA, Irish Defence Force's Artillery Regiments, United States Army and Marine Corps Field and Air Defense Artillery, Italian Navy, Spanish Artillery, German Artillery, Greek Artillery, Cypriot Artillery.
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Artillery camps throughout Greece and Cyprus, host celebrations in honour of the saint, where the traditional sweet of lukumás (right) is offered to military personnel and visitors, allegedly because it resembles cannonballs
1110: During the First Crusade, the coastal city of Sidon (modern-day Sidon, Lebanon) is sacked by the Crusader forces of King Baldwin of Jerusalem and King Sigurd of Norway.
Route of the First Crusade through Middle East
1676: During the Scanian War (fought on Scania - the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula - and Northern Germany, involving the union of Denmark-Norway, Brandenburg and Sweden), the Battle of Lund occurs. A 12,300-strong Dano-Dutch army, with 56 cannon, under Frederick von Arenstorff were defeated by 8,000 Swedes with 10 cannon, under their King, Karl XI and Field Marshal, Baron Simon Grundel-Helmfelt. The Danes suffered huge losses, numbered at 6,000 - 6,500 men killed or wounded, 2,000 taken prisoner. Swedish losses accounted for ca 3,000 killed or wounded, 200 taken prisoner.
King Karl XI in the battle of Lund
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Albanian port city of Sarandë, although heavily fortified by the Italians, is unable to withstand to the Greek artillery fire and falls to the Greeks. The Italian military and civil authorities, withdrew towards Himarë. Italian troops are also withdrawing from Gjirokastër towards Tepelenë in order to avoid encirclement. The heights overlooking from Gjirokastër to Tepelenë, were taken at the point of the bayonet. Colonel Mordechai Frizís, CO of the Greek 8th Rgt is killed near Përmet on the same day. He is the first high ranking officer of Jewish origin (the fourth overall Greek high ranking officer killed since the beginning of hostilities) to fall in battle in World War II.
Frizís as a young officer with his wife in the interwar period. At the time of his death, his regiment did not have a Rabbi into chaplaincy service; the Orthodox Christian chaplain said the Shema for him
1942: The Polish writer and resistance fighter Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and the devout Polish Roman Catholic, Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz, form in Warsaw the Konrad Żegota Committee, an underground organization of Polish resistance in German-occupied Poland with the aim to help the country's Jews and find places of safety for them in occupied Poland.
The Żegota memorial in Warsaw
1942: During the Guadalcanal Campaign, the Carlson's Long Patrol, an operation by the 2nd Marine Raider Battalion under Lt. Col. Evans Carlson concludes. In a series of small unit engagements over 29 days, the 2nd Raiders killed almost 500 Japanese soldiers while suffering only 16 killed.
1943: Tito’s Partisans establish a provisional government in the liberated part of Yugoslavia.
1971: During the Indo-Pakistani War, India launches a swift three-****ged assault of nine infantry divisions with attached armoured units and close air support into East Pakistan with the aim to capture Dhaka, East Pakistan's capital. Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh, who commanded 4th Corps (8th, 23rd, and 57th divisions), led the Indian thrust into East Pakistan. The Indian Missile Boat Group comprised three OSA class missile boats, escorted by two anti-submarine patrol vessels, begin Operation Trident and sink with their Styx anti-ship missiles, the Pakistani Navy destroyer PNS "Khyber" and the minesweeper PNS "Muhafiz", while the destroyer PNS "Shajehan" was badly damaged, off Karachi.
Lt. Gen. Sagat Singh, GOC 4 Corps
12-05-2010, 05:49 AM
1492: Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
The statue of Christopher Columbus in his native city, Genoa
1746: During the War of the Austrian Succession, Genoa - in order to avoid a sack - surrendered to an Austrian army and briefly experienced Spanish Habsburg foreign rule. On 5 December, with a great popular insurrection, Genoa restored its aristocratic republic.
1757: During the Seven Years' War, the Battle of Leuthen occurs. Frederick the Great's Prussian army of 36,000 with 167 cannon, defeated a 80,000-strong Austrian army with 210 guns under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. The Prussians lost 1,141 killed, 5,118 wounded, 85 captured. The Austrians suffered 3,000 killed, 7,000 wounded, 12,000 captured. 51 Imperial Austrian standards and 116 arty pieces fell into Prussian hands. The key to victory in this battle was the pre-battle operational maneuvers.
Frederick the Great, rallying his troops
1912: During the First Balkan War, a Greek volunteer force of 200 Epirotans and Cretans under Gendarmerie Major, Spyridon Spyromílios, engage and defeat the Ottoman garrison of the coastal town of Himarë in modern-day Albania (with the help of the Greek warship RHNS "Achelous" which bombarded the Turkish positions with her guns) and occupy it.
1941: With the main forces of Heeresgruppe Mitte (=Army Group Centre) (Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock) just 30 km (19 miles) from Moscow, Hitler abandons the offensive for winter and agrees to some local withdrawals to more defensive terrain. Soviet Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov launches a counter-offensive across the frozen upper Volga in the area of Kalinin, to the northwest of Moscow. He uses General Ivan Stepanovich Konev's Kalinin Front (=a military formation of roughly Army Group size) for the purpose, but despite the severe cold and exhaustion of the German troops, his forces meet severe resistance, with only the 31st Army (Maj. Gen. V.H. Dolmatov) enjoying any success as it pushed towards Turginovo.
1941: Hungary and Romania declare war on UK.
Hungarian aircraft of Hungarian Air Force in WWII
1943: Operation Crossbow, an allied campaign against German long-range weapons begins with U.S. bombardment against Ski Sites (V-2 and V-3 sites) in N France.
1944: Marshal Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky attacks with 53rd and 7th Guards Armies from NE of Budapest and advances 96 km (60 miles) in eight days.
Hungarian artillery firing
1964: During the Vietnam War, for his heroism in battle earlier in the year (early in the morning of 6 July, 1964, his base at Nam Đông was attacked by a two-battalion force of Vietcong. Under Captain Donlon's leadership, the two-battalion attack was repulsed) Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
12-06-2010, 05:09 AM
1240: Kiev (modern-day Kiyiv, Ukraine) falls to the Mongols of the Golden Horde under Batu Khan. Most of the population was massacred, out of 50,000 inhabitants before the invasion, only 2,000 survived. Most of the city was burned and only six out of forty major buildings remained standing. Voivode Dmytro, commander of the 1,000-man Kiev's garrison, was spared by the Mongol leader Batu Khan for the courage he showed in the defence of the city.
1912: During the First Balkan War, advanced elements from the Greek III Division (Maj. Gen. Constantine Damianós), engage and defeat the Ottoman garrison of the Nothern Epirotan town of Koritza (present-day Korçë, Albania) and occupy it. They will remain there until March of 1914 when they will surrender Koritza to the newlly established Albanian Gendarmerie.
WWI-1916: German General Erich von Falkenhayn's cavalry captures Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The remnants of the Romanian Army retreat to Moldova and the government re-establish the capital at Iaşi.
German cavalry enter Bucharest
WWI-1917: Finnish Parliament adopts the Finnish Declaration of Independence. It declared Finland an independent and sovereign nation-state. On 18 December, the Soviet government will officially recognise Finland's independence.
"...The century-old desire for freedom awaits fulfilment now; Finland's people step forward as a free nation among the other nations in the world..."
WWI-1917: The French cargo ship, SS "Mont-Blanc", fully loaded with wartime explosives, accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS "Imo" in the Halifax Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mont-Blanc carried 2,653 tonnes (2,924 tons) of various explosives, mostly picric acid. The huge explosion that followed, killed 2,000 people and injured 9,000 more. An evaluation of the explosion's force puts it at 2,900 tonnes (3,197 tons) of TNT.
1921: The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by the representatives of HM government and representatives of the secessionist Irish Republic. The treaty ended the Irish War of Independence. It established the Irish Free State as a self-governing dominion within the British Empire.
1922: The Irish Free State comes into existence exactly twelve months after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.
The Irish Free State's Great Seal
1939: During the Winter War, Soviet attacks against the Mannerheim line are beaten back by the Finns with heavy Red Army casualties. The Red Army began its first major attack against the Line in Taipale, the area between the shore of Lake Ladoga, the Taipale river and the Suvanto waterway. Along the Suvanto sector, the Finns had a slight advantage of elevation and dry ground to dig into. The Finnish artillery had scouted the area and made fire plans in advance, anticipating a Soviet assault. The Battle of Taipale began with a 40-hour Soviet artillery preparation. After the barrage, the Soviet infantry attacked across open ground but was repulsed with heavy casualties.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, and following the Greek official announcement of the capture of the Albanian town of Sarandë, an important Italian naval base and the most southern supply port of the Italian armies in the country, Italian Supreme Commander Badoglio resigns at his own request; replaced by Gen. Hugo Cavallero. The Italians also vacate and abandon Gjirokastër which Greek forces have outflanked. Additional Greek successes in the Pogradec sector - the mountan region of Kamja was taken by the Greeks at the point of the bayonet - affirm that the whole Pogradec valley is now under full Greek control.
1941: Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov extends the Red Army's counter-offensive along the whole Moscow axis in an attempt to prevent Panzergruppe 3 (=Panzer Group 3) (Generaloberst Georg-Hans Reinhardt) and Panzergruppe 4 (=Panzer Group 4) (Generaloberst Erich Höpner) from outflanking Moscow from the NE. To launch this offensive, Zhukov uses 4 armies on the right flank of his own West Front.
1941: The United Kingdom declares war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union. British declaration of war against Finland was expected to encourage a similar Soviet declaration against Japan.
1944: During the Greek Civil War, the 12-day Battle of Makriyannes begins. On the morning of 6 December, the Communists with two regiments try to take by assault the Gendarmerie HQ-Makriyannes Camp. The building complex that sheltered the Gendarmerie HQ, stood at the Makriyannes district, below the Acropolis of Athens. The camp housed the men of the 1st Royal Hellenic Gendarmerie Regiment (1,100 men in 1944). 700 of those, had been ordered to spread inside the city of Athens, to guard government and other public buildings. The Gendarmerie contingent inside the camp, numbered 88 officers and 429 gendarmes, under Colonel Georgios Samuil. Gendarmerie casualties the first day of the battle accounted for 5 officers 49 gendarmes dead, 8 officers 28 gendarmes wounded. EAM and ELAS casualties numbered in the hundreds.
The western wall of the Gendarmerie HQ. The building looks untouched but this is not the case: The roof collapsed on the gendarmes' heads, after a mortar hit, killing 4
1971: During the Indo-Pakistani War, on the morning of 6 December, four Indian MiG-21 (No. 28 Sqn), flying from Guwahati at very low level, bombed Tejgaon air***** in Dhaka - then East Pakistan - with 500 kg bombs, scoring several hits on the runway, and rendering it unusable for operations. The airport was without air cover at that time, as a Pakistani Air Force ground support mission had just landed and the duty flight had not taken off. Two craters, 10 m (33 feet) deep and 20 m (66 feet) wide, separated by 1,200 m (1,312 yards) had rendered the runway unusable (the bombs used were Soviet BetAB-500 Penetration Bombs).
1991: In Croatia, forces of the Yugoslav People's Army shell Dubrovnik after laying siege to the city since May.
12-06-2010, 06:25 PM
On this day, December 7th 1941, 'A day that will live in Infamy' Pearl Harbour was attacked by the Empire of Japan
Roosevelts speech (Dec 8th)
The forgetting of Pearl Harbour in Japan
12-07-2010, 11:16 AM
12-08-2010, 04:56 AM
1432: During the Lithuanian Civil War, the Battle of Ashmyany (modern-day Asmena, Lithuania) occurs. The battle was fought between the royal forces of Jogaila under Žygimantas Kęstutaitis and the forces of Švitrigaila allied with the Teutonic Order. Lithuania was divided into two camps: Supporters of Žygimantas (Lithuanian lands, Samogitia, Podlachia, Hrodna, Minsk) and supporters of Švitrigaila (Polotsk, Vitebsk, Smolensk, Kiev, Volhynia).
Švitrigaila (left) and Žygimantas (Sigmund) Kęstutaitis
1939: During the Winter War, the Battle of Suomussalmi reaches its peak. Soviet forces began to attack across the frozen lakes to the W at Suomussalmi, the second southernmost part of the reindeer-herding area in Finland. Their attempt failed completely. The second part of Soviet forces led the attack to the NW on Puolanka, that was defended by the 16th Detached Battalion, that had just arrived. This attempt also failed.
Colonel Siilasvuo receiving a briefing during the Battle of Suomussalmi
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, Gjirokastër falls to the Greeks, therebye cutting off the Italian 11th Army altogether from the town which had been its base and was particularly strongly fortified. A Captain with an Evzone soldier were the first who reached the town hall where they learnt that the Italians had abandoned the city on 6 December, with 35 civilians as hostages. The Greek Captain addressed the city's population from the town hall balcony stating that the Greeks came as friends and brothers to liberate Albanians from the fascist yoke. The crowd cheered him loudly. A little later the Greek troops entered, to the cheers of the Albanians and Greeks, Muslim and Christian. There were thunderous shouts of To Rome!.
Greek troops and Red Cross in Gjirokastër
1941: The Soviet offensive against Heeresgruppe Mitte (=Army Group Centre) (Generalfeldmarschall Fedor von Bock) succeeds in breaking through the German lines in many places, causing hasty withdrawals by ill-prepared and frost-bitten troops that are forced to abandon much heavy equipment that was immobilised by the below-zero weather.
1941: The Japanese 15th Army (Lt. Gen. Shojiro Iida) crossed the Siamo-Burmese border and invaded Thailand. At the same time, the Japanese 1st Infantry Battalion of the 143rd Infantry Regiment landed at Chumphon. They were pinned down by determined resistance by Thai Youth Army (the 52nd Youth Army Training Unit, Sriyaphai School) along with the 38th Infantry Battalion and Provincial Police of Chumpon. Fighting ended in the afternoon when the Thais received orders from Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsongkram, PM and military dictator of Thailand, to cease fire.
2005: Ante Gotovina, a Croatian army general accused of war crimes, is captured in the Playa de las Américas, Tenerife by the Spanish police.
12-09-2010, 05:22 AM
750: During the Second Arabo-Khazar War, the Battle of Marj Ardab occurs. A Khazar army under Prince Barjik, invaded the Umayyad provinces of Iran and defeated the army of the Umayyad Caliphate under Abu Uqbah al-Djarrah ibn Abdullah al-Hakami near the city of Ardabil of NW Iran. The Caliph's forces were overwhelmed and defeated and al-Djarrah was killed.
1824: During the Peruvian War of Independence, the Battle of Ayacucho occurs. A force consisted of South American Patriots and British and Irish volunteers, under Antonio José de Sucre y Alcalá, defeated a Spanish Royalist force commanded by Field Marshal José de Canterac, near the small town of Quinua in Peru. With this victory, the independence of Peru was sealed.
The memorial to the battle in Quinua
1835: During the Texas Revolution, the Battle of Bexar occurs. Texian forces under Col. Benjamin Rush "Ben" Milam, captured San Antonio from Mexican forces commanded by General Martin Perfecto de Cos. The Mexican Army lost more than 400 killed, deserted or wounded in the ensuing battle. Texan losses were only 20 to 30 killed, including Milam.
The Benjamin Rush Milam monument, in San Antonio, Texas
1856: During the Anglo-Persian War (fought from 1 November, 1856 to 4 April, 1857 between the UK and Persia) the city of Bushehr situated on the SW coast of Iran, on the Persian Gulf, surrendered to the British.
1912: During the First Balkan War, the Greek Submarine RHNS "Delphin" (1912), a Laudeuf-class submarine, commanded by Lt. Stephanos Paparrhegopulos, attacked the Ottoman cruiser, RS "Mecidiye" (1903) but the torpedo missed. This is the first account of a submarine attack against a warship, with torpedos, in the history of sea-warfare.
WWI-1917: Following the Ottoman defeat in the Battle of El Mughar Ridge (fought on 13 November between British and ANZAC forces, and the Ottoman 7th Army) Jerusalem is captured by the Entente Forces under Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby.
Allenby enters Jerusalem on 11 December
1937: During the Second Sino-Japanese War, a Japanese army composed of the Shanghai Expeditionary Army (the nucleus of which was the 16th, 9th, 13th, 3rd, 11th, and 101st Divisions) and the 10th Army (6th, 18th, and 114th Divisions), ca 240,000-strong, under Prince Asaka Yasuhiko, launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanjing.
1940: The 30,000-strong Western Desert Force under Field Marshal Sir Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, takes to the offensive Operation Compass. The 4th Indian Division (Maj. Gen. Noel Beresford-Peirse) captures the Italian camps at Nibeiwa, Tumar East and West, while the 7th Armoured (Maj. Gen. Michael O'Moore Creagh) drives S of the camps at Sofafi and Rabia and turns N towards Buq Buq on the coast road. As column also advances along the coast road from Mersa Matruh towards Maktila while British warships bombard both Maktila and Sidi Barrani.
1941: Bangkok is occupied by Japanese troops. The Japanese also continue to land troops along the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand and at Kota Bharu in NE Malaya. China declares war on Germany and Italy.
1971: During the Indo-Pakistani War, the Indian Navy suffered its biggest wartime loss when the Pakistani submarine PNS "Hangor" (S131) (Cpt. Ahmed Tasnim) torpedoed and sank the frigate INS "Khukri" (1958), the ship of the Squadron Commander of Indian 14th Frigate Sqn, in the Arabian Sea, resulting in a loss of 18 officers and 176 sailors, including her CO, Cpt. Mahendra Nath Mulla.
1987: The First Intifada begins in the Gaza ***** and West Bank.
12-10-2010, 05:05 AM
536: General Belissarius, following the successful Vandalic War and exercising Emperor Justinian's suzerainty over Italy and to restore the Western Roman Empire, enters Rome through the Asinarian Gate at the head of 5,000 troops, while the Ostrogoth garrison was leaving the city through the Flaminian Gate and headed north towards Ravenna. After 60 years, Rome was once again in Roman hands. In March of 537, a 12-month siege of Rome will begin by the Ostrogoths led by their King Witiges.
The Imperial, Chosen, Commensal, Caballarian (=Chivalric, Knightly) Order of Bucellarii
1665: During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the Korps Mariniers (the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps) is founded by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter and the First Statesman of the Dutch Republic, Johan de Witt, as the Regiment de Marine.
Qua Patet Orbis (=As Far As The World Extends) is the Motto of the Netherlands Marines
1832: The island of Samos is granted autonomous status (named the Samos' Hegemony) within the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mahmud II, under the auspices of the three protecting powers UK, France and Russia. The island's governor, a Greek christian, is to be appointed by the Sublime Porte.
The flag of the Samos' Hegemony, and Kostaki Karatheodori, the 15th governor of Samos (1906)
1898: With the Treaty of Paris, signed by the USA and the Spanish Kingdom, the Spanish-American War is concluded. The Treaty signaled the end of the Spanish Empire in America and the Pacific Ocean.
1941: The Royal Navy Battleships HMS "Prince of Wales" (53) and HMS "Repulse" (1916) are attacked and sunk off the NE coast of Malaya by Japanese Navy torpedo bombers flying from occupied French Indochina.
1941: Japanese troops land on and capture Guam. Japanese troops under the command of General Masaharu Homma, make landings on the northern tip of Luzon and the island of Camiguin in the Philippines.
1944: The U.S. Third Army (Gen. George S. Patton) captures the French towns of Hagenau and Sarreguemines on the Franco-German border.
1949: During the Chinese Civil War, the People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
1971: During the Indo-Pakistani War, Operation Cactus-Lilly, a military operation mounted by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to airlift troops of IV Corps (Lt. Gen Sagat Singh) of the Indian Army from Brahmanbaria to Raipura and Narsingdi over the River Meghna, bypassing the strong Pakistani defences at Ashuganj and at the destroyed bridge over Meghna, continues for second day.
1971: During the Indo-Pakistani War, the Bangladesh Navy gunboats BNS "Palash" and BNS "Padma", accompanied by INS "Panvel", under the overall command of Cdr. M. N. Samant, were mistakenly attacked by three IAF planes. All three ships sunk. 16 crewmen and Naval Commandos were killed, 11 more were wounded in this Blue on Blue incident. 21 Indian and Bengali crewmen were captured by Pakistan.
1975: During the Indonesian Invasion of East Timor, a second Indonesian military operation resulted in the capture of East Timor's second biggest town, Baucau.
12-12-2010, 06:14 AM
627: During the Byzantine-Sassanid War, the Battle of Nineveh occurs. A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius, defeated a Persian Sassanid army under Rhazates (Rhazadh), an Armenian General in the service of the Persian King Chosroes (Khosrau) II. According to Nicephorus' account, Rhazates challenged Heraclius to personal combat. Heraclius accepted and killed Rhazates in a single thrust.
The result of the Byzantine victory was the peace treaty of 628 AD; under the treaty, the Byzantines regained all their lost territories, their captured soldiers, a war indemnity, and most importantly for them, the True Cross and other Christian relics that were lost in Jerusalem in 614 AD
1098: During the First Crusade, the Siege of Maarat ends. A crusader force under Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse and Bohemond I, Prince of Antioch, entered the Syrian city of Ma'arrat al-Numan following the Muslim garrison's surrender to the superior crusader force. The crusaders massacred about 20,000 inhabitants and - according to the chronicler of the First Crusade, Fulcher of Chartres - after finding themselves with insufficient food, they cut pieces from the buttocks of the Saracens already dead there, which they cooked and ate. Those events had a strong impact on the local inhabitants of Middle East. The crusaders already had a reputation for cruelty and barbarism towards Muslims, Jews and even local Christians, Catholic and Orthodox alike.
1781: During the American War of Independence (or American Revolutionary War), the Naval Battle of Ushant occurs. A Royal Navy fleet of 12 warships under Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt, intercepted a French fleet of 19 warships and 20 transports, commanded by Admiral Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen, 130 nautical miles SW of Ushant, in the Bay of Biscay. The British captured 15 transports; 1,062 soldiers and 548 crewmen were also captured.
1862: During the American Civil War, the City-class ironclad gunboat, USS "Cairo" (1861), struck a mine detonated by Confederate volunteers hidden behind the Mississippi river bank and sunk in 12 minutes; there were no casualties. Cairo was the first armoured ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
1937: During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Panay Incident occurs. It was a Japanese attack on the United States Navy gunboat USS "Panay" (PR-5) while she was anchored in the Yangtze River outside of Nanjing. Japan and the United States were not at war at the time. The Japanese claimed that they did not see the United States flags painted on the deck of the gunboat, apologized, and paid an indemnity.
USS "Panay" is sinking after Japanese air attack on Nanking, China
1939: During the Winter War, the Battle of Tolvajärvi occurs. The Finnish Group Talvela (consisting of the 16th Infantry Regiment, four independent battalions and one battalion from the 6th Artillery Regiment; ca 4,000 men) under Lt. Col. Paavo Talvela, attacked the Soviet 139th Rifle Division (consisting of the 718th, 609th and 364th Rifle Regiments; nearly 20,000 men, some 45 tanks and around 150 guns) under Maj. Gen. Nikolai Beljajev. The objective of the attack was simple, to encircle and destroy as many units of the 139th division as possible. Lt. Col. Talvela, drove the Soviets off in very heavy fighting and inflicted heavy losses. The Finns lost 350 killed or wounded. The Soviets suffered ca 5,000 killed or wounded.
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1939: During the Winter War, the two-day - unsuccessful - counter attack of the Finnish IV Corps on the Lemetti-Uomaa road, opens. The attack was carried out by the Finnish Group Räsänen (IV Corps consisted of the 12th, and 13th Divisions, and the 11th independent battalion, under Maj. Gen. Johan Woldemar Hägglund) with overall strength, 26 battalions, 6 artillery battalions and some replacement-units. The operation failed because - according to Finnish historians - the IV Corps tried to bite a too big chunk from an apple that proved to be too hard to be bitten by soft teeth.
Maj. Gen. Hägglund
1941: UK declares war on Bulgaria. Hungary and Romania declare war on the United States. India declares war on Japan.
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1942: Manstein launches Operation Winter Storm his counter attack with a hastily assembled force of 13 divisions, including three Panzer divisions with about 230 tanks to try and relieve Sixth Army at Stalingrad.
1979: South Korean Army Lt. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan orders the arrest of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Jeong Seung-hwa without authorization from President Choi Kyu-ha, alleging involvement in the assassination of ex-President Park Chung Hee. This led to a bloody shoot-out at the Army Headquarters and the Ministry of Defence. The coup ended the Fourth Republic of South Korea and led to the Fifth Republic of South Korea.
Lt. Gen. Chun Doo-hwan
12-15-2010, 05:40 AM
533: During the Vandalic War, the Battle of Tricamarum occurs. A Byzantine army of 10,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry under General Belisarius, defeated the 50,000 Vandals under their king, Gelimer, at Tricamarum, W of Carthage in N Africa. The Vandal lines were routed, leaving ca 3,000 dead. Byzantine losses were minimal. Belisarius then marched on the city of Hippo Regius, which opened its gates to him.
1256: During the Mongol raids in Middle East, a Mongol army under Hulagu Khan attacks and destroys the Ismailis' (also known as Hashshashins or Assassins) stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran.
The Hashshashin fortress of Alamut
1467: During the Moldavo-Hungarian Wars, the Battle of Baia occurs. A Moldavian 12,000-strong army, under Stephen the Great, the Prince of Moldavia, defeated the Hungarians of Mátyás Hunyadi, numbering from 15,000 - 40,000 men, at Baia in the Suceava County, Romania. Hunyadi was wounded by three arrows in the back and had to be carried from the battlefield on a stretcher, to avoid him falling into Moldavian hands.
Stephen the Great's statue in Chisinau, Moldova
1864: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Nashville occurs. Before daylight on the 15 December, Union troops, led by Maj. Gen. James Steedman, set out to hit the Confederate army. Eventually, Union IV Corps' troops after launching consecutive assaults managed to almost completely destroy the Army of Tennessee. For ten days, the pursuit continued until the beaten and battered Army of Tennessee recrossed the Tennessee River. U.S. forces lost 2,140 killed or wounded. The C.S. suffered 4,462 casualties.
WWI-1914: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.
Serbian Corporal in WWI
WWI-1917: An armistice is reached between the new Russian Bolshevik government and the Central Powers.
1941: Stalin orders all functions of the Soviet state to relocate back to Moscow now that he is sure that the threat to the capital has been removed. Stalin also orders that the counter offensive should be extended along the whole of the eastern front. Klin is recaptured by the Red Army. Stalin orders that Army Group Centre should be destroyed by a double envelopment from the N and S.
1942: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse, opens between United States and Imperial Japanese forces in the hills near the Matanikau River area on Guadalcanal.
1942: Greek destroyer RHNS "Vassilissa Olga" (D-15) (Lt. Cdr. Ioannes Blessas) and HMS "Petard" (G-56) (Lt. Cdr. Mark Thornton), sink S of Malta, in the Mediterranean, the Italian, Adua-class submarine, RM "Uarsciek" (1937) (Lt. Gaetano Arezzo della Targia).
1961: In Jerusalem, Karl Adolf Eichmann, sometimes referred to as "the architect of the Holocaust", is sentenced to death after being found guilty of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity and crimes against the Jewish people. Eichmann was hanged a few minutes before midnight on 31 May, 1962, at a prison in Ramla, Israel.
2006: First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.
12-16-2010, 05:07 AM
1598: During the Japanese invasions of Korea, the Naval Battle of Noryang occurs. The allied force of about 150 Joseon Korean and Ming Chinese ships, led by Yi Sun-sin and Chen Lin, attacked and either destroyed or captured more than half of the 500 Japanese ships commanded by Shimazu Yoshihiro on the east end of the Noryang Strait. Out of 500 Japanese ships under Shimazu's command, an estimated 150-200 were able to make it back to Pusan Harbour. The Chinese lost just 500 soldiers and sailors including Admiral Yi.
1761: During the Seven Years' War, the Pomeranian town and Prussian stronghold of Kolberg (modern-day Kołobrzeg, Poland) is captured by the Russians of Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky. At the end of the war, however, Kolberg was returned to Prussia.
The fall of fortress Kolberg in 1761 to Russian troops
1773: Members of the Boston Tea Party disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbour as a protest against the the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea coming into the colonies. This action led to an intense crackdown by the British government, and a counter-mobilization by the American Patriots that led directly to the American Revolution in 1775.
1838: During the Great Trek (=an eastward and north-eastward migration away from British control in the Cape Colony during the 1830s and 1840s by Boers) the Battle of Blood River occurs. 470 Boer pioneers (Voortrekkers) led by Andries Pretorius, defeated an estimated 10,000 - 15,000 Zulu army led by chiefs Dambuza Nzobo and Ndlela kaSompisi, on the bank of the Ncome River. About 3,000 Zulu warriors were killed (including two princes). Only three Boers were wounded. During the chase, Pretorius was wounded in his left hand by a Zulu spear.
The monument to the battle consists of life-size bronze replicas of the wagons involved in the historic battle of Blood River
WWI-1914: A German flottila consisted of the warships SMS "Moltke" (1910), SMS "Von der Tann" (1907), SMS "Blücher" (1908), SMS "Derfflinger" (1913) and SMS "Seydlitz" (1912) - the flagship of Admiral Franz Ritter von Hipper - bombarded the English ports of Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. The attack resulted in 137 fatalities and 592 casualties. As a result of the damage inflicted on these raids, the British propaganda effort vilified Hipper as a baby killer.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Italian 37th Mountain Infantry Division Modena came into action on the Greek left flank where hard fighting took place W of the River Drino (tributary of the Vjosë in SW Albania). The Greeks established themselves on the heights surrounding Tepelenë and offer stiff resistance to consecutive Italian attacks. During an Italian attempt, the colonel of an Italian regiment was killed.
1942: The Red Army begins another offensive in the direction of Rostov-on-Don to cut off the German forces in the Caucasus. The Italian ARMIR's (General Italo Gariboldi) precarious position on the Don threatens Stalingrad relief attempt.
Italians of the ARMIR (Armata Italiana in Russia-Italian Army in Russia, an army-sized unit)
1944: The German Army in the West begins Operation Wacht am Rhein, with the objective of splitting the allied forces and capturing the strategic port of Antwerp in Belgium. Under the control of Heeresgruppe B (=Army Group B) (Generalfeldmarschall Otto Walter Model), the attacking forces pouring forth from the Ardennes forest comprise of the 6.SS-Panzerarmee (=6th SS Panzer Army) (SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef Dietrich), Panzergruppe Eberbach (=Panzer Group Eberbach) (General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel) and the 7. Armee (=7th Army) (General der Panzertruppe Erich Brandenberger) providing flank support to the south of the line of advance. The German offensive manages to breakthrough the American front on a 70-mile (112 km) front.
German Grenadiers in the Ardennes
1971: The Instrument of Surrender of Pakistani forces stationed in East Pakistan was signed in Dhaka, East Pakistan, by Lt. Gen. Jagjit Singh Aurora, C-in-C of Eastern Command of the Indian Army and Lt. Gen. Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, C-in-C of Pakistani forces in East Pakistan. The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 concludes. India took approximately 90,000 prisoners of war, including Pakistani soldiers and their East Pakistani civilian supporters. India lost 3,843 killed, 9,851 wounded in the ground operations; 1 Indian frigate was also sunk. Pakistan suffered 9,000 killed, 4,500 wounded, 97,368 captured. In the naval operations, Pakistan lost 2 destroyers, 1 minesweeper, 1 submarine, 3 patrol vessels, 7 gunboats sunk. Since East Pakistan - Bangladesh - became an independent nation, the world's third most populous Muslim state, Pakistan was now *****ped of more than half of its population.
12-17-2010, 05:16 AM
546: During the Gothic War of 535 - 554 AD between the Ostrogoths and the Byzantine Empire, the Ostrogoths of King Totila conquer Rome. Rome was plundered, but Totila, who typically destroyed the fortifications of every city he took over, paused in his destruction of Rome's walls and gates.
Totila or Baduila; Ostrogothic king in 541 - 552, engraving (19th c.) colourised document
1398: Invading Mongol forces of Tamerlane, defeated four armies of the Tughlaq Dynasty, the Sunni Delhi Sultanate of India under Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud. For eight days Delhi was plundered, its population massacred and over 100,000 war prisoners were killed as well.
1583: During the Cologne War (occurred within the context of the Protestant Reformation in Germany and the subsequent Counter-Reformation), the Siege of Godesberg ends. A Catholic force consisting of Bavarian and mercenary soldiers under Ferdinand of Bavaria and Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg, laid siege and eventually captured the Protestant stronghold of Godesberg defended by German and Dutch protestants. The castle's 178 dead were buried in two mass graves whose locations remain unknown.
1637: The Shimabara Rebellion, a Japanese peasant revolt (by mostly Roman Catholic converts) against Tokugawa shogunate's rule, begins. The Christian rebels, led by the charismatic 16 year-old youth, Amakusa Shiro, laid siege to the Terasawa clan's Tomioka and Hondo castles but their revolt was crushed. Shiro was executed and his head was displayed on a pike in Nagasaki for a very long time afterward as a warning to any other potential Christian rebels. Christianity in Japan was driven underground.
Buddhist statues, beheaded by rebelling Christians
1812: During the Anglo-American War, the two-day Battle of Mississineway opens. A U.S. cavalry force of 600 troopers under John B. Campbell, attacked at least two Miami tribe settlements, near the modern-day city of Marion, Indiana, in response to the native attacks on Fort Wayne and Fort Harrison in the Indiana Territory. The U.S. lost 12 killed, 46 wounded. The native Americans lost at least 30 warriors killed; 42 others were captured. The battle is significant as the first American victory in the Anglo-American War of 1812.
Memorial to the U.S. Soldiers (left) and to the Miami warriors killed in the battle
1862: During the American Civil War, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11 according to which "The Jews, as a class violating every regulation of trade established by the Treasury Department and also department orders, are hereby expelled from Tennessee within twenty-four hours from the receipt of this order" (sic). The order was revoked three days later by order of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Grant later claimed it had been drafted by a subordinate and that he had signed it without reading.
The outrage of American Jewry against General U. S. Grant's Order No. 11, which expels the "Jews as a class" from territories under the Thirteenth Army Corps, is conveyed to President Lincoln by this set of calligraphically inscribed Resolutions
1903: The American brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, achieve the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight with their Wright Flyer at Kill Devil Hills, about 4 miles (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S. The Aviation Age begins.
1939: Unable to complete the repairs to the Admiral Graf Spee within 24 hours, the time limit stipulated by international law for foreign warships in neutral ports to leave and under strict orders by OKM (=Oberkommando der Marine-Naval High Command) not to go in to internment in Uruguay, Kapitän zur See Hans Wilhelm Langsdorff takes his ship outside the harbour of Montevideo and orders his crew to scuttle her, thus denying the Royal Navy fleet that's converging on the River Plate the opportunity of destroying her in an unequal battle.
1943: The U.S. Fifth Army (Lt. Gen. Mark Wayne Clark) captures the village of San Pietro in central Italy after 10 days of heavy fighting.
1944: After some deep penetrations into the lines of the unprepared American forces, the Germans make only slow progress due to limited roads as well as difficult terrain and weather conditions in the Ardennes, not reaching any assigned first day objectives. The allies rush reinforcements to the Ardennes. 84 American prisoners of war, belonging to the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion, are murdered by members of Kampfgruppe Peiper (part of the 1st SS Panzer Division) in Malmedy, Belgium.
1947: First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber.
1957: The U.S. successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1960: Troops loyal to Haile Selassie I in Ethiopia crush the coup that began on 13 December, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.
1961: Indian Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru ordered the invasion of the Portuguese colony of Goa, meeting little resistance (34 Indians and 31 Portuguese were killed in the fighting). There were moves to bring Goa into the fold of the Indian state, making the Konkani one of India's official languages. In 1987, Goa became India's 25th state. Despite these moves, Goa's role in India has been a source of considerable debate and tension.
12-19-2010, 06:00 AM
1796: During the French Revolutionary Wars, the Naval Battle of Murcia occurs. Two Royal Navy frigates, the HMS "Minerve" and HMS "Blanche" under Commodore Horatio Nelson, were engaged and defeated by two Spanish frigates, the SPS "Sabina" and SPS "Matilde" under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart off the coast of Murcia.
The Minerve, was a French 40-gun frigate captured by the British in 1795 off Toulon
1939: During the Winter War, the two-day Battle of Mäntyvaara opens. The battle reached its peak on the snowy moonlit night of 19 - 20 December and was fought in freezing temperatures (-20° C/-4° F). Despite heavy losses on both sides, the Finns fought off a surprise attack and prevented the Soviets from reaching Kemijarvi, just 20 km (13 miles) away. The Soviets lose 20 tanks out of 100 as they attack the village of Summa, a gateway to the city of Viipuri.
The Memorial to the battle of Mäntyvaara. The inscription reads: God helped here
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Italians are falling back on Himarë and Tepelenë where the main Italian army was now massed. The Greeks had breeched the Italians' defensive line from N of Përmet to Ostrovicë, a mountain located in the SE part of Albania, at several points by means of a number of sharp local offensives and had driven the Italians back to a convex line, covering Këlcyrë, a small yet strongly fortified town.
The Greek crew of a St. Étienne Mle 1907, MG, move to a new position
1942: Manstein’s tanks are only 48 km (30 miles) S of Stalingrad.
1944: Nearly 9,000 surrounded Americans surrender in the Schnee Eifel, the most serious U.S. reverse in Europe. SHAEF (=Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) (Gen. Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower) orders the U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Brig. Gen. Anthony Clement "Nuts" McAuliffe was acting Commander of the 101st at the time) as well as the 10th Armored Division (Maj. Gen. William Henry Harrison Morris, Jr.) to be detached from Third Army (Gen. George Smith Patton, Jr.) and moved N to aid the 28th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Norman Daniel Cota, Sr.) in its defence of the vital road junction of Bastogne.
1946: The First Indochina War, fought between France's CEFEO (=French Far East Expeditionary Corps) and the Việt Minh, led by Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp, opens, with the Battle of Hanoi. Vietnamese nationalists (Việt Minh) penetrated into Hanoi and began attacking French military positions and French homes.
12-20-2010, 06:03 AM
1192: During the Third Crusade, Richard the Lion-Heart is captured and imprisoned by Duke Leopold V of Austria, who suspected him of murdering his cousin Conrad of Montferrat, and had been offended by Richard signing a treaty with Saladin ending the Third crusade. He was later transferred to the custody of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and it took a ransom to obtain his release. Richard returned to England in 1194 and died of a crossbow bolt wound in 1199 at the age of 41.
During the time of the Crusades, Richard the Lion-Heart used three golden lions passant guardant, on a red field as a powerful symbol of the English Throne
1522: Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
1939: During the Winter War, the Soviets cease their attacks at Summa, leaving Finnish forces in control of the whole Mannerheim defensive line, except the Oinala Bulge.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Evzones take by storm Mount Peluri, the key to the town of Himarë and immediately begin attacks on the town. The battalion of Italian Grenadiers holding a position gave way after a brief engagement and its CO was made prisoner. The entire Italian Siena Division (51a Divisione di Fanteria Siena) is now in a state of crisis.
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1941: German forces of Army Group Centre retreating from before Moscow reach a new defensive line more than 100km (62 miles) to the W, where, following strict orders by Hitler, they are to stand and fight off any further Soviet advances.
1942: The Japanese bomb Calcutta for the first time.
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1944: In their torturous advance toward the Meuse river, armoured units of 6.SS Panzerarmee (=6th SS Panzer Army) (SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef Dietrich) capture Stavelot, in the Belgian province of Liège, searching for allied fuel dumps to replenish their nearly exhausted supplies of gasoline.
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1989: Operation Just Cause, the invasion of Panama by the United States during the administration of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, in order to safeguard the lives of Americans in Panama, defend democracy and human rights in Panama, to combat drug trafficking and protect the integrity of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties, occurs.
1995: NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia.
1999: Macau is handed over to the People's Republic of China by Portugal.
12-21-2010, 05:36 AM
1598: During the Arauco War (a conflict between colonial Spain and the Mapuche people in what is now the Araucanía and Biobío regions of modern Chile) the Battle of Curalaba occurs. 50 Spaniards and 300 Amerindian allies led by Don Martín García Óñez de Loyola, were surprisingly attacked by 300 Mapuche warriors under their military leader Pelantaro or Pelantarú, on the night of 21 December, in southern Chile. All but two (the Catholic priest, Bartolomé Pérez, who was captured, and Bernardo de Pereda, a soldier left for dead with 23 wounds who made his way to La Imperial after 70 days) from the colonial force were killed.
The flag of the Mapuche people
1832: During the First Turco-Egyptian War, the Battle of Konya occurs. 15,000 Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha, with 48 cannon, defeated a 50,000-strong Ottoman army with 100 cannon, led by Reshid Mehmet Kyutahi Pasha, outside the city of Konya in central Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. The Turks suffered 3,000 killed or wounded, 5,000 were taken prisoner. The Egyptians lost ca 800 killed or wounded. Reshid Pasha was captured and the Ottoman army was scattered.
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, in an 1846 portrait
1883: The first two regiments of the Canadian Permanent Force are established: The Cavalry School Corps (present-day, Royal Canadian Dragoons) and the Infantry School Corps (modern-day, Royal Canadian Regiment). These school corps were created as regular units that would train the Canadian militia.
1943: The British Eighth Army’s (Lt. Gen. Bernard Law Montogomery) 1st Canadian Division (Maj. Gen. Chris Vokes) battles against elements from German 1. Fallschirmjägerdivision (=1st Parachute Division) (General der Fallschirmtruppe Richard Heidrich) to capture Ortona in central Italy. Ortona was of high strategic importance, as it was one of Italy's few usable deep water ports on the east coast, and was needed for docking allied ships and so shorten Eighth Army's lines of supply which at the time stretched back to Bari and Taranto. On 28 December, the depleted German paras, who lacked reinforcements, finally withdrew from the town. The Canadians suffered ca 1,400 casualties in the fighting, almost a quarter of all Canadians lost during the Italian Campaign.
1944: The U.S. First Army (Lt. Gen. Courtney Hicks Hodges) retakes Stavelot, but to the S, the Germans besiege Bastogne. Units of Panzer Group Eberbach (General der Panzertruppe Hasso von Manteuffel) capture St. Vith.
12-23-2010, 05:39 AM
962: During the Arabo-Byzantine Wars, the Hamdanid city of Aleppo (modern-day Halab, Syria) was sacked by a resurgent Byzantine Empire under General Nicephorus Phocas.
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1793: During the War in the Vendée, the last, decisive battle of Savenay occurs. The forces of the royalist counter-revolutionaries were irrevocably shattered by the French Revolutionaries.
The Sacred Heart of Vendée was used as an emblem during the insurrection of Vendée. The Vendeans fought under the flag with the heart-and-cross and the inscription Dieu Le Roi (God the King)
WWI-1916: The Battle of of Magdhaba occurs. The ANZAC Mounted Division and the Imperial Camel Corps Brigades under Maj. Gen. Harry Chauvel defeated the Ottoman 80th Infantry Rgt under Khadir Bey, in the Sinai desert, some 18 - 25 miles (29 - 40 km) from the Mediterranean coast and the town of El Arish. A mounted charge by the 10th Light Horse to secure vital water supplies nearby was a vital contributory factor in the victory. With the victory at Magdhaba, the occupation of El Arish, the first town on the Mediterranean Sea was secured.
Water reservoirs at Magdhaba
1937: First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
1941: The Japanese launch another attack against Wake Island, overwhelming the small US garrison. Immediately after its capture, the Japanese rename the Island as Bird Island. Rear-Admiral Frank J. Fletcher's task force is still more that 350 nautical miles away and so is diverted to Midway. American and Filipino troops of the North Luzon Force, begin to fall back towards the River Agno under heavy pressure from the Japanese.
1942: Having advanced as far as the Myshkova river, 48 km (30 miles) SW of Stalingrad, the three Panzer divisions of the relief force have exhausted their power and begin to withdraw towards their starting line at Kotelnikovo.
1968: The 82 crewmen from the USS "Pueblo" (AGER-2), a Navy intelligence ship, which was boarded and captured by North Korea, are released after 11 months of internment in the country.
Crew of the USS Pueblo being released from North Korean custody
2002: A General Atomics MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25, making it the first time in history that an aircraft and an UAV had engaged in combat.
12-24-2010, 05:22 AM
1814: The Treaty of Ghent, the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 is signed by the USA and the UK.
1920: During the Asia Minor Campaign, the Greeks begin offensive operations along the line Bursa - Eskişehir.
1940: The Greek Submarine RHNS "Papanikolís" (Y-2) commanded by Lt. Cdr. Miltiades "Miltos" Iatrídes, attacks an Italian convoy consisting of 12 cargo and supply ships and 6 destroyers, and sinks the troop ship "Firenze" (3,952 tons), off the Albanian port city of Vlorë.
1942: The Red Army begins an offensive against Heeresgruppe Don (=Army Group Don) (Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein) toward Kotelnikovo, breaking through the lines of 4th Romanian Army (Gen. Constantin Constantinescu-Claps).
1943: Commanders of the Western Front are announced as General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF); General Bernard Law Montgomery to be C-in-C of 21st Army Group. General Henry Maitland Wilson is made Supreme Commander in the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations (MTO) and General Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander is C-in-C Allied Armies, Italy.
General Montgomery (left) with General Eisenhower
General Wilson (left) and General Alexander
12-25-2010, 04:04 AM
800: Charles I, also known as Charlemagne or Carolus Magnus, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III.
1000: István (Stephen) is crowned King of the Magyars, thus establishing the Christian Kingdom of Hungary.
King Stephen's statue in his hometown, Esztergom; he is venerated as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox Churches
1066: William the Conqueror is crowned King William I of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
1100: Baudouin of Boulogne is crowned King Baudouin (Baldwin) I of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity.
1130: Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned King of Sicily.
Detail of the mosaic with Roger II receiving the crown by Christ, Martorana, Palermo. The mosaic carries an inscription Rogerios Rex in Greek
1553: During the Arauco War, the Battle of Tucapel occurs. Spanish conquistador forces consisting of 55 Spaniards and 2,000 - 5,000 Amerindian auxiliaries, under Don Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia, were attacked and annihilated by dozens of thousands of Mapuche warriors under Lautaro at the fortress of San Diego de Alcalá de Tucapel, Arauco Province, Chile. All the Spaniards were killed, and most of the auxiliaries. Valdivia was captured alive and was later executed.
Bust of Lautaro in Cañete, Arauco Province, Chile
1837: During the Second Seminole War, the Battle of Lake Okeechobee occurs. 800 U.S. troops of the 1st, 4th, and 6th Infantry Regiments and 132 Missouri Volunteers, under Col. Zachary Taylor, were defeated by 400 - 460 Seminole warriors led by Billy Bowlegs, Abiaca and Alligator. 26 U.S. soldiers were killed, 112 were wounded, against 11 Seminoles killed and 14 wounded.
WWI-1914: About 100,000 British and German troops were involved in unofficial cessations of hostilities along the length of the Western Front, in what is known as the Christmas truce. The truce started on Christmas Eve, when German troops began decorating the area around their trenches in the region of Ypres, Belgium.
German and British troops in the Christmas truce of 1914
1939: During the Winter War, the three-day Battle of Kelja, opens. Finnish troops managed to destroy, after bloody fighting, the bridgehead that the Soviet 4th division had managed to establish on the northern shore of the Suvanto River near the village of Kelja, in freezing temperatures (-17°C/1°F). The Soviets suffered heavily in the battle. The Finnish estimates of the number of Soviets killed, in the destroyed bridgeheads, is around 2,000. The number of wounded is unknown.
1941: The Battle of Hong-Kong, opened on 8 December, concludes on Christmas-day with Hong Kong, then British, surrendering to Japan. Japanese soldiers entered the British field hospital at St. Stephen's College, and tortured and killed a large number of injured soldiers, along with the medical staff. British casualties accounted for 4,413 killed or wounded; almost 25% of the original force. The Japanese lost ca 8,000 killed or wounded.
The Sai-Wan War cemetary in Hong-Kong
1942: Heavy fighting continues all around the perimeter of Stalingrad, while the decimated and starving troops of 6. Armee (General der Panzertruppe Friedrich Paulus) receive their last rations of horse meat, the 12,000 horses in the pocket having now all been slaughtered.
1944: The 2. Panzer-Division (Generalmajor Meinrad von Lauchert) is just 4 miles (6 km) from the river Meuse, SW of Liege, Belgium, but is stopped by the U.S. 2nd Armored Division (Maj. Gen. Ernest N. Harmon) with British help.
12-27-2010, 05:32 AM
1918: The Wielkopolska Uprising, a military insurrection of Poles in the Greater Poland region of Großherzogtum Posen (=Grand Duchy of Poznan), in Prussia, against German rule, begins. The uprising broke out, after a patriotic speech by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a famous Polish pianist.
Paderewski plays Chopin's Waltz in C# minor, op.64, no.2, in 1917
1922: The first purpose built aircraft carrier and the first aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the "Hosho" (1922), is commissioned.
1939: During the Winter War, the Finnish 9th Division (Col. Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo) attacks towards Suomussalmi, recapturing the village and forcing the Soviet 163rd Division (Maj. Gen. Andrei Ivanovich Zelentsov) to retreat in panic.
1942: Hitler agrees to allow the retreat by Heeresgruppe A (=Army Group A) (Generalfeldmarschall Ewald von Kleist) and Heeresgruppe Don (=Army Group Don) (Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein) to a line 250 km (155 miles) W of Stalingrad.
1944: The Soviets capture Esztergom, after five hours of heavy fighting, this cutting all communications with Budapest and trapping four or five German divisions and the Hungarian 23rd Reserve Division (General Géza Fehér).
The Mária Valéria bridge in Esztergom, demolished by German engineers
1949: The Kingdom of the Netherlands, officially recognizes Indonesian independence, thus ending the Indonesian National Revolution. Sovereignty was formally transferred on 27 December 1949, and the new independent state of Indonesia was immediately recognised by many European countries and the US.
12-28-2010, 06:03 AM
1835: During the Second Seminole War, ca 1,400 warriors led by Osceola, begin their resistance against the U.S. Army arrived in their lands to enforce the Treaty of Payne's Landing (signed by the U.S. government and several Seminole chiefs of Florida); according to the treaty, the Seminoles should leave Florida voluntarily with their peoples and reside W of the Mississippi River.
1940: Mussolini asks Hitler for support, to help the bogged down Italian forces with their offensive against the Greeks in Albania.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, Greek forces by now, are effectively in occupation of a section of Albanian territory up to 50 km (30 miles) in depth. The Italian 6th Infantry Division Cuneo (6a Divisione di fanteria "Cuneo") (Maj. Gen. Carlo Melotti) and 11th Infantry Division Brennero (11a Divisione di fanteria "Brennero") (Maj. Gen. Arnaldo Forgiero) arrive in Albania and would soon be thrown into action.
Men of the Brennero division move to the front
1942: In the face of the continuing Soviet offensive toward Rostov-on-Don, Heeresgruppe A (=Army Group A) (Generalfeldmarschall Ewald von Kleist) is ordered to withdraw its forces from the Caucasus.
Generalfeldmarschall Ewald von Kleist
12-30-2010, 05:53 AM
1460: During the War of the Roses, the Battle of Wakefield occurs. Possibly up to 18,000 Lancastrian soldiers, loyal to the captive King Henry VI, his Queen, Margaret of Anjou, and their seven year-old son Edward, Prince of Wales, under the command of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, defeated a ca 9,000-strong army of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, the rival claimant to the throne. Lancastrian casualties did not exceed 200 killed or wounded while the Yorkish force lost up to 2,500 men (including the Duke of York).
1813: During the Anglo-American War, British troops and their Native American allies first captured the village of Black Rock (NW of the city of Buffalo, New York) and then the rest of Buffalo, burning most of both to the ground.
1922: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is formed: A conference of plenipotentiary delegations from the Russian SFSR, the Transcaucasian SFSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR approved the Treaty of Creation of the USSR and the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, forming the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. These two documents were confirmed by the 1st Congress of Soviets of the USSR and signed by heads of delegations on 30 December 1922.
1939: During the Winter War and the Battle of Suomussalmi, Finnish forces completely destroy the Soviet 163rd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Andrei Ivanovich Zelentsov). Finnish losses were ca 350 killed, 600 wounded and 70 missing. The Finnish 27th Rgt (Lt. Col. Paavo Susitaival) who made the initial attack to the Suomussalmi village, sustained the heaviest casualties. The initial manpower of the strengthened 163rd division was around 23,000. The Finnish attacks, sealed the fate of the mostly surrounded division: 13,000 Soviets were either killed or wounded. In addition, Finnish forces captured a large amount of military supplies, including tanks (26), field and AA guns (27), trucks (181), horses (350), AT guns (12), MG and LMG (52), rifles (625) and 800,000 rounds of 7.62 mm rifle ammo, 9,000 artillery shells, the almost complete equipment of a field hospital, skis, snowsuits, handguns, baggage trains, a field bakery, field kitchens (26) which were greatly needed by the Finnish army. The battle is still seen today as a symbol of the entire Winter War itself.
The Finnish Winter War Memorial in Suomussalmi...
...each stone is placed in memory of every fallen soldier in the battles of the Winter War
1942: Subhash Chandra Bose, the Indian nationalist who opposed India's entry in WWII with the allies, made his way through Afghanistan to Nazi Germany to seek Axis help to raise an army to fight the Raj, and who eventually formed - with Rommel's help - the Legion Freies Indien, a.k.a the Indische Legion, variously known as the Tiger Legion (950. Indisches Infanterie-Regiment), raises the flag of Free India at Port Blair.
Free India's flag
1944: The Germans launch a heavy attack on the Bastogne corridor in the Ardennes. The British attack on Houffalize - a strategic location during the Battle of the Bulge situated at Belgium's Walloon Region and Luxembourg Province - is halted by bitter German resistance.
2006: Deposed President of Iraq Saddam Hussein, convicted of the executions of 148 Iraqi Shiites, is executed by hanging.
12-31-2010, 05:56 AM
535: Syracuse and the island of Sicily was recovered by General Belisarius for the Byzantine Empire, by defeating the Ostrogothic garrison of Syracuse.
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1229: During the Reconquista, King Jaime I of Aragon, the Conqueror, enters Medina Mayurqa (modern-day Palma de Mallorca, Spain) thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island of Majorca.
The statue of king James I of Aragon in Madrid, Spain
1775: During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Quebec occurs. Richard Montgomery's 1,200 Continental army invaded British Quebec and attacked the 1,800-strong British regular and militia army under General Guy Carleton. The British repulsed the attack.
1862: During the American Civil War, the Battle of Stones River occurs. The Confederate Army of Tennessee, numbering some 37,800 soldiers, under Gen. Braxton Bragg, engaged the 43,400-strong Union Army of the Cumberland led by William Starke Rosecrans near Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, the Union Army's repulse of two Confederate attacks and the subsequent Confederate withdrawal were a much-needed boost to Union morale after the defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and it dashed Confederate aspirations for control of Middle Tennessee. U.S. casualties accounted for 13,249 killed or wounded; the C.S. suffered 10,266 casualties.
1940: During the Greco-Italian War, the Greeks capture all heights of more than 1,300 metres (4,500 ft) to the N of Himarë along the approach to the Llogara pass. The strong Italian counter-attacks in the Tepelenë and Këlcyrë regions are checked. The Italians withdraw further E of the Vjosë River.
1940: The Greek Submarine RHNS "Katsónes" (Y-1) commanded by Lt. Cdr. Athanasios Spanidis, gunned down with her 100 mm gun and sank the Italian replenishment ship Quindo (530 tons) off the Yugoslav coast, causing an international incident.
Lt. Cdr. Spanidis on board the Katsónes
1941: All further German attacks against the Crimean fortress of Sevastopol are halted due to winter's extreme weather.
German sentry in the Russian winter
1944: Rochefort, a Walloon municipality close to the Ardennes, is back in U.S. hands. The U.S. Third Army (Gen. George S. Patton) launch new counter-offensive near Bastogne. At about 23:00 of 31 December, the Germans launch their Nordwind offensive towards Strasbourg, with Heeresgruppe G (=Army Group G) (Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz) and Heeresgruppe Oberrhein (=Army Group Upper Rhine) (Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler) advancing against the thinly stretched, 68-mile (110 km) line of the U.S. 7th Army (Lt. Gen. Alexander McCarrell "Sandy" Patch).
1965: Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic army, and his military officers begin a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.
U.N Secretary-General, U Thant, with General Bokassa
1981: A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
1983: A coup d'état in Nigeria led by Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari ends the Nigerian Second Republic.
1991: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is officially dissolved.
1992: Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
1999: Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin as the acting President.
1999: The U.S. Government hands control of the Panama Canal, as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone, to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties.
01-01-2011, 06:46 AM
69: Roman legions XXII Primigenia and VIII Augusta in Germania Superior (Upper Germany; an area covering today's Franche-Comté, Alsace-Lorraine, Baden-Württemberg) refuse to swear loyalty to Servius Sulpicius Galba. They revolt and proclaim Aulus Vitellius Germanicus as emperor.
193: Urban Prefect, Publius Helvius Pertinax is chosen against his will by the Roman Senate to succeed Emperor Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus. Pertinax will rule for just three months.
1259: Michael VIII Palæologus is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicæa - the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded after Constantinople was occupied by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade - with his ward, John IV Lascaris.
The flag of the Lascarid Empire of Nicæa. The two crowned eagle's heads symbolise the former East Roman Empire and its successor Nicæan state
1438: Albert II of Habsburg, is crowned in Székesfehérvár, King of Hungary.
1527: Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria as the new king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin. Ferdinand promised to respect the historic rights, freedoms, laws and customs the Croats and to defend Croatia from Ottoman invasion and subjugation.
1651: Charles II, is crowned King of Scotland at Scone, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.
1707: Fidelíssimus John V the Magnanimous, is crowned King of Portugal and the Algarves.
1801: The union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
The first Monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King George III
1804: Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country on the American Continent after the US. Historians have estimated the slave rebellion resulted in the death of 100,000 black slaves and 24,000 French colonists.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the first ruler of independent Haiti
1822: During the Greek War of Independence, the first constitution in the modern history of Greece, the Constitution of the Revolution is proclaimed, a document adopted by the First National Assembly of Epidaurus.
Article 96: The seal of the state bears for an emblem Athena (Minerva) ornamented with the symbols of wisdom
1901: The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia.
1941: During the Greco-Italian War, the Italians launch their counter-offensive in Albania. Violent counter-attacks are launched on all three sectors of the front: In the north the Italians attempt to regain Lake Ohrid; in the centre the Italian objective is the control of the Shkumbi valley and its major town, Muskopol; in the South the Italians launch consecutive attacks against the Greek defensive line at Këlcyrë.
Italian infantry attack
1944: General Mark Wayne Clark takes over the U.S. Seventh Army in addition to the command of the U.S. Fifth Army.
1945: Fierce air battles over western front, with 188 out of 800 Luftwaffe planes reported shot down during their last major attack of the war.
1947: The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after WWII, merge to form the Bizone, that later became the Federal Republic of Germany.
1957: During IRA's Operation Harvest, Seán Garland and Dáithí Ó Conaill planned an attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks at Brookeborough, but assaulted the wrong building. Two IRA men, Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon, were killed in the abortive attack. Garland was seriously wounded in the raid. He and the remainder of the group were pursued back over the border by 400 Royal Ulster Constabulary and British soldiers.
1959: Fulgencio Batista, president of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution.
1962: The United States Navy Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) Teams are established.
1994: The Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional (=Zapatista Army of National Liberation) initiate twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas.
Comandante Marcos of the Zapatistas
01-02-2011, 06:11 AM
1492: During the Reconquista, the Siege of Granada ends. The last Nasrid ruler of the emirate of Granada, Abu Abdullah Muhammad XII, known as Boabdil to the Spanish, surrendered complete control of Granada, to Ferdinand and Isabella, the King and Queen of Spain, ending Islamic rule on the Iberian peninsula.
1777: During the American Revolutionary War, Second Battle of Trenton occurs. British General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, led a force of ca 5,000 troops with 28 cannon against George Washington's 5,000-strong Continental army near Trenton, New Jersey. The British were decisively defeated in two separate engagements fought on the same day.
1905: During the Russo-Japanese War, Port Arthur's (today's Lushun City, Liaoning province, China) Russian garrison surrenders to the Japanese. In total 33,359 Russian Army and Navy officers and other ranks, together with 16,000 sick and wounded, surrendered to the Japanese.
Baron Anatoly Mikhaylovich Stessel (centre-right) and Count Nogi Maresuke (centre-left) with their staff officers in Port Arthur
1927: With the declaration that the hour of battle has sounded and that the hour of victory belongs to God, a counter-revolution known as the Cristero War, initiated by traditionalist Catholic groups and clergy in reaction to the implementation of anticlerical laws emanating from the Mexican constitution of 1917, begins in Mexico.
The Cristeros' Mexican flag
1942: Japanese troops enter Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
01-03-2011, 06:24 AM
1777: During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Princeton occurs. A 4,500-strong Continental army with 35 cannon under George Washington, defeated the 1,500 British troops of Lt. Col. Charles Mawhood, near Princeton, New Jersey. The Americans suffered from 100 - 400 killed or wounded while the British lost from 370 - 500 killed, wounded or made prisoners.
Brig. Gen. Hugh W. Mercer, a physician and close friend to Washington, was fatally wounded in the battle. He became a rallying symbol of the American Revolution
1925: Benito Mussolini is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
1941: During the Greco-Italian War, the Italian counter-offensive fades out. Not one of the three Italian objectives was met. On the contrary, the Greeks advance further 5 km (3 miles) near Tepelenë and capture 12 arty pieces, 20 MG and LMG and take 500 prisoners.
Italian POW accompanied by armed Greek Gendarmerie guards
1943: USMC top ace, Major Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, is shot down in his F4U-1A Corsair over Rabaul.
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1944: The U.S. Fifth Army (Lt. Gen. Mark W. Clark) begins an offensive against the German forces in Italy who are entrenched in the Gustav Line along the Rapido river, with its centre at Cassino.
1945: The U.S. First Army (Lt. Gen. Courtney H. Hodges) counter-attacks on the northern side of the Ardennes salient.
1990: Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to U.S. forces.
1993: In Moscow, George H. W. Bush and Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
01-05-2011, 04:28 AM
1477: During the Burgundian Wars - a three-year conflict between the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France - the Battle of Nancy occurs. A Burgundian army of ca 3,000 men under the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, were annihilated by the ca 20,000 men (half of them were "Switzers", Swiss mercenaries) of the Duke of Lorraine, René II. The battle took place outside the walls of Nancy and the death of Charles the Bold in the fighting, ended the Burgundian Wars, and led ultimately to the dissolving of the Duchy of Burgundy.
The corpse of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, is found after the Battle of Nancy
1675: During the Dutch War - a six-year war fought by the Kingdom of France, Sweden, the Bishopric of Münster, the Archbishopric of Cologne and the Kingdom of England against the Dutch Republic, which was later joined by Holy Roman Empire, Brandenburg and Spain to form a quadruple alliance - the Battle of Turckheim occurs. A French army under Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, defeated - with negligible casualties - an Imperial army, comprised contigents from Austria and Brandenburg-Prussia, led by the Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm I. Turenne's conduct in the Dutch campaign is considered one of the brightest of the 17th century.
Henri de Turenne
1781: During the American Revolutionary War, under the command of Benedict Arnold, Richmond, Virginia, was burned to the ground by troops of the British Naval Expedition.
Benedict Arnold, the traitor
1782: During the American Revolutionary War, the French under François-Joseph Paul, Marquis de Grasse-Tilly, Comte de Grasse, begin the Siege of Brimstone Hill, by invading the British Saint Kitts and Nevis, West Indies. After a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered.
The Brimstone Hill Fortress, today
1913: During the First Balkan War, the Naval Battle of Lemnos occurs. The Royal Hellenic Navy fleet, led by Rear-Admiral Pavlos Kunduriótes, comprised the 9,960 ton armoured cruiser RHNS "Georgios Averof" (flagship), the three old pre-dreadnought battleships RHNS "Spetsæ", RHNS "Hydra" and RHNS "Psara" and seven destroyers, engaged and defeated the Ottoman fleet, led by Ramiz Bey, included the pre-dreadnought battleships RS "Barbaros Hayreddin" (flagship), RS "Turgut Reis" and RS "Mesudiye", the cruiser RS "Mecidiye", and five destroyers, off the island of Lemnos, in the northern Aegean. The Greeks suffered just one casualty. Ottoman casualties accounted for 41 killed and 104 wounded. The Greek victory in the final naval battle of the First Balkan War, forced the Ottoman Navy to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the remainder of the war.
Admiral Kunduriótes onboard his flagship
1940: During the Winter War, the Finnish 9th Division (Col. Hjalmar Fridolf Siilasvuo) begins an offensive on the Raate road, which after two days leads to the almost complete destruction of Soviet 44th Kievskaya Rifle Division. The 17,500 riflemen of Maj. Gen. Alexey Vinogradov's 44th Rifle Division, supported by 40 tanks, 12 armoured cars, 600 machine guns, and 120 arty pieces and mortars, faced Siilasvuo’s 11,000 9th Infantry Division troops armed mainly with small arms, 116 machine guns, and a handful of artillery pieces and mortars near Suomussalmi’s eastern approaches. Siilasvuo’s division, operating in battalion-sized task forces, cut off 44th Rifle Division from its base at Raate and then used motti (=entrapment or envelopment) tactics to conduct multiple attacks along the flanks of the Soviet division to fragment, isolate and destroy it in detail.
1969: Members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary damage property and assault occupants in the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland. In response, residents erect barricades and establish Free Derry.
1991: Georgian troops attack Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, opening the 18-month South Ossetia War. During the war, several hundred of combattants were killed and about 100,000 ethnic Ossetians fled from South Ossetia and Georgia proper, mainly into North Ossetia-Alania (part of Russian Federation). A further 23,000 ethnic Georgians fled from South Ossetia and settled in other Georgian areas.
01-06-2011, 05:53 AM
1449: The last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Dragaš-Palæologus, commonly know as Constantine Palæologus, is crowned at Mystrás, Peloponnese.
Constantine and his signature, written with cinnabaris (=red mercuric sulphide) Imperial pigment; it reads: "Constantine, in Christ God, faithful King and Emperor of Romans, Palæologus"
1579: The Union of Arras, an accord under which the southern states of the Netherlands (today in Wallonia) and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais (and Picardy) regions in France and Belgium, expressed their loyalty to the Spanish king Philip II, is signed. In addition, Don Juan of Austria was named Governor General of the Netherlands.
1781: During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Jersey occurs. 1,000 Frenchmen under Baron Phillipe de Rullecourt, attempted to invade the island of Jersey, a British crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. The French were defeated by the 2,000 British defenders of Jersey, led by Maj. Francis Peirson. The French suffered more than 30 killed or wounded; 600 soldiers made prisoners. The British had similar number of casualties. Both military leaders, were killed in the street fighting of Saint Helier.
1900: During the Second Boer War, the Boer forces of Commandant-General Piet Joubert attempted to end the siege of Ladysmith (modern-day Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal) taking the town before the British could launch another attempt to break the siege but are driven back by British defenders.
Ladysmith Town hall during the Siege of Ladysmith
1909: The Great White Fleet (=the popular nickname for the USN fleet), consisted of 16 battleships, passes through the Suez Canal, the largest group of ships to pass through up to that time.
1929: King Alexander I of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, abolished the Constitution, prorogued the National Assembly and introduced a personal dictatorship. He also changed the name of the country to Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
1940: During the Winter War, Finnish pilot Lt. Jorma Kalevi Sarvanto, flying a Fokker D. XXI, shoots down six out of seven Soviet SB-2 bombers in just 5 minutes. The Soviet 44th Division's CO Maj. Gen. Vinogradov, authorizes the remainder of his troops to try escape back to Soviet lines.
1941: During the Greco-Italian War, the bloodiest and fiercest battle of the war begins with the Greek advance into the Këlcyrë gorge. Këlcyrë (Clisura in Greek), is the name of a town and gorge in southern Albania created by the river Vjosë, near the homonymous town. The three divisions of Greek B' Army Corps (Lt. Gen. Georgios Bakos) enter the gorge and engage in a fierce encounter with the Italian 7th Infantry Division Wolves of Tuscany (7ª Divisione fanteria "Lupi di Toscana") the 3rd Mountain Division Julia (3ª Divisione Alpina "Giulia") and the 131st Armoured Division Centaur (131ª Divisione corazzata "Centauro").
Captured by Greeks, Italian Fiat-Ansaldo M13/40 Medium Tank of the Centauro division in the Battle of Këlcyrë
1967: During the Vietnam War, U.S. Marines and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Deckhouse Five, an offensive in the Mekong River delta. The operation was notable in that it was a sizable, combined U.S. Marine and Vietnamese Marine amphibious operation. Their mission was to construct a POW cage at Vung Tau, and capture, escort and secure prisoners from the area of operations to the POW cage at Vung Tau. The POW capture rate was below that anticipated. The operation failed and resulted in the deaths of 21 Vietcong and 7 U.S. Marines.
01-07-2011, 06:52 AM
1558: The French, under François de Lorraine, 2nd duc de Guise, duc d’Aumale, prince de Joinville, nicknamed the Scarred (French le Balafré) take advantage of a weakened English garrison and capture Calais, the last continental possession of England.
François de Lorraine
1598: Boris Fyodorovich Godunov, becomes Tsar of Russia, the first non-descended Russian Tsar from the Varangian prince Rurik.
1797: The first official tricolore Italiano (=Italian tricolour), was adopted, when the XIVth Parliament of the Cispadane Republic (=a short-lived French client republic located in Northern Italy, founded in 1796 under the protection of Napoleon Bonaparte), on the proposal of deputy Giuseppe Compagnoni of Lugo, decreed "to make universal the standard or flag of three colours, green, white, and red"
The flag of the Repubblica Cispadana
1919: The Christmas Revolt (broke out on Christmas day - 25 December, 1919 - according to Julian calendar, 7 January according to N.S) an uprising of Montenegrin guerrilla fighters under Cpt. Krsto Todorov-Zrnov Popović, which aimed against the planned annexation by Serbia, begins. It is believed that Italy played an instrumental role in organizing the revolt because they were opposed to the creation of a united South Slavic state Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
Krsto Todorov-Zrnov Popović, the leader of the Montenegrin revolt
1940: General Semyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko takes command of all Soviet forces in Finland and begins to build up his forces for a decisive offensive.
Timoshenko (right) with staff officers
1942: 80,000 U.S. and Filipino troops successfully complete their withdrawal to the Bataan Peninsula, along with 26,000 civilians, although food stocks are only sufficient to sustain 43,000 men for 6 months. The Japanese quickly close up to the first defensive position, which is based on Mounts Santa Rosa and Natib. The siege of the Bataan Peninsula begins.
1942: The Soviet North-West Front (Lt. Gen. Pavel Alekseyevich Kurochkin) begins an offensive south of Lake Ilmen, 6 km (3.7 miles) from Novgorod, in an attempt to encircle Demyansk. At the same time the newly created Volkhov Front (Lt. Gen. Kirill Afanasievich Meretskov) launches an attack to force the Germans back from around Leningrad (modern-day St. Petersburg, Russia).
1952: U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces that the United States has developed the hydrogen bomb.
1979: The Cambodian-Vietnamese War, opened on 25 December 1978, concludes within two weeks, on 7 January 1979, when Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The Vietnamese suffered ca 30,000 killed and wounded in the war, while the Cambodians lost ca 90,000 men; up to 60,000 Cambodians were taken prisoners.
Vietnamese troops enter Phnom Penh
01-08-2011, 06:48 AM
871: During the Viking-Saxon wars, the Battle of Ashdown occurs. A Saxon force under Ælfræd the Great, then a prince of only twenty-one, engaged and defeated a Danish force from Danelaw (a Danish dominion in eastern England), under King Bagsecg at Ashdown (present-day Berkshire, SE England). The Saxons prevailed but it was a pyrrhic victory. The Danes lost their king.
Statue of Alfred the Great in Winchester, England
1746: During the Second Jacobite revolt, Prince Charles Edward Louis Philip Casimir Stuart, aka Bonnie Prince Charlie and his army takes the town of Stirling in Scotland, but failed to take the Stirling Castle. On their consequent retreat northwards, they blew up the church of St. Ninian where they had been storing munitions; only the tower survived and can be seen to this day.
The equestrian statue of Bonnie Prince Charlie in Derby, England
1815: During the Anglo-American War, the Battle of New Orleans, the last major battle of the War of 1812, occurs. A 4,000-strong U.S. force under Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson, defeated the 11,000 British of Maj. Gen. Sir Edward Michael Pakenham. At the end of the day, the British suffered 291 killed (including General Pakenham), 1,267 wounded and 484 captured or missing. The Americans had 13 dead, 39 wounded and 19 missing.
1863: During the American Civil War and the raid, or expedition, of Confederate acting Brig. Gen. John S. Marmaduke into Missouri, the Second Battle of Springfield occurs. Union Brig. Gen. Egbert Benson Brown sent two regiments of cavalry to engage the advancing Confederates. A mile south of Springfield, the Union cavalry encountered Marmaduke's line. Losses to the Union side consisted of 14 killed, 146 wounded and 5 captured, while Marmaduke lost 70-80 men killed or mortally wounded, and 124 wounded. Another 200 were slightly wounded and 12 were captured. Union forces were victorious.
1877: During the Great Sioux War, the Battle of of Wolf Mountain occurs. 436 U.S. troops under the command of Captain Edmund Butler, engaged a 500-strong force of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne under the Lakota warlord, Crazy Horse and the Cheyenne warlord, Two Moons. U.S. cassualties accounted for 5 killed, 8 wounded; the Native Americans suffered 3 killed and unknown number of wounded. Although a tactical draw, in effect the battle was a strategic victory for the U.S. Army, as it demonstrated that the Natives were not safe from the army even in winter and harsh conditions.
U.S. Private, battle of Wolf Mountain; he wears a round-topped muskrat cap with ear flaps, and muskrat gauntlets. His buffalo overcoat is fastened with loops and hard rubber buttons. He holds an M1873 Springfield rifle .45" caliber
1940: During the Winter War, Finnish troops capture 1,000 Soviet soldiers near Suomussalmi.
Captured Red Army soldiers
1943: General Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky, C-in-C of Don Front, issues a surrender ultimatum to the 6. Armee, guaranteeing their lives and safety and after the end of the war their return to Germany. He also promises that medical aid will be given to all wounded, sick and frost-bitten. Paulus rejects this demand for surrender.
2005: The nuclear sub USS "San Francisco" (SSN-711) collided with an undersea mountain about 302 nautical miles S of Guam while operating at flank speed and more than 500 feet (150 m) deep. The collision was so serious that the vessel was almost lost. Twenty-three crewmen were injured, and Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Joseph Allen "Joey" Ashley, died from head injuries.
The San Francisco in drydock at Guam
01-10-2011, 06:21 AM
49 BC: Under the Roman Republic the river Rubicon marked the boundary between the Roman province of Gallia Cisalpina (=Cisalpine Gaul) to the N and Italy proper, and generals were forbidden from crossing it with their troops. This law was broken when on 10 January, 49 BC, Gaius Julius Cæsar led his legions across the river to march on Rome itself, igniting a civil war that would ultimately result in the end of the Republic. As he did so, Cæsar have said - according to Suetonius - alea iacta est (=the die is cast).
1072: Norman adventurer, Robert Guiscard, captures Byzantine Panormus (modern-day Palermo), the historic capital of Sicily.
1475: During the Ottoman Wars in Europe, the Battle of Vaslui, occurs. An allied 40,000-strong Moldavian army under Stephen the Great of Moldavia, comprised contigents from Moldavia, Poland and Hungary, defeated a 120,000-strong Ottoman army led by Hadım Süleyman Pasha, the ruler of Rumelia (=land of Rums, Orthodox Christians; the southern Balkan regions of the Ottoman Empire), near Vaslui, present-day Romania. The Ottoman casualties accounted for 45,000, including four Pashas killed and a hundred standards taken. Stephen was a man of religion and he did not celebrate his victory; according to his contemprary Polish historiographer, Ioannes Longinus, he instead, fasted for 40 days on bread and water and forbade anyone to attribute the victory to him, insisting that credit be given only to God.
Stephen is venerated as a saint by the Romanian Orthodox Church
WWI-1916: The Erzurum Offensive, a major winter offensive conducted by the Imperial Russian 325,000-strong, Caucasus Army under General Nikolai Nikolaevich Yudenich, against the Ottoman Third Army under Abdulkerim Pasha, opens. The battle will conclude in mid-February with the capture by the Russians of the strategic city of Erzurum. During the storming of the city, the Russians captured 9 Ottoman Imperial standards, took 5,000 prisoners and 327 guns. The Ottomans lost about 10,000 men killed and wounded, as well as 5,000 prisoners. Overall, during the entire campaign, they lost over 17,000 killed, wounded or unaccounted for. The Russian casualties were 1,000 killed, 4,000 wounded and 4,000 became affected with frostbite.
Captured Ottoman Imperial standards
WWI-1916: Entente troops occupy the Greek island of Corfu, in order for it to serve as a refuge for the Serbian army that will eventually retreat there on Allied forces' ships from a homeland occupied by the Austro-Hungarians and Bulgarians. During their two-year stay, many Serbian soldiers will die from exhaustion, food shortage, and diseases. Most of their remains are buried at sea near the island of Vido, a small island at the mouth of Corfu port, and a monument of thanks to the Greek nation has been erected at Vido by the grateful Serbs; consequently, the waters around Vido Island are known by the Serbian people as the Blue Graveyard (=Плава Гробница, Plava Grobnica) after Milutin Bojic immortal poem:
Ode to a Blue Sea Tomb (Plava Grobnica by Milutin Bojic)
Translated by Michael M. Petrovich
Hail to you, imperial galleys! Restrain your
Stroke your oars silently!
I'm proudly officiating a sublime Requiem in the chill
of the night
Upon these sacred waters.
Here at the bottom, where seashells tire in sleep
And upon the dead algae peat falls,
Stretch the graves of the brave, couched brother
Prometheuses of Hope, Apostles of Pain.
Don't you feel the wafting sea,
That it may not trouble their holy repose?
From the deep abyss peaceful slumber ebbs,
And in tiring flight the moonlight slowly passes.
This is a mysterious temple and a sad graveyard
With decaying carcasses, unfathomably real.
Silent like the night on the tip of the Ionian Sea
Dark as a conscience, cold and despairing.
Don't you feel from your most depressing moods
That piety grows over this benediction
And the air fills with curious gentleness?
That great soul of the fallen roams
Hail to you, imperial galleys! Upon this tomb
my dear kindred ones
Veil the trumpets in mourning black.
Let your sentry, upright, chant the holy dirge
Here, where waves come to an embrace!
For the centuries will pass as the white foam
vanishes upon the sea without a trace,
And a new and great age will come in its place,
To create a splendid home upon this grave.
But these waters, in which was shrouded
the terrible mystery of the Epic,
these waters will be a cradle in Time of legends revealed,
Where the soul will seek out its Destiny.
Buried are here once ancient garlands
And the passing joy of more than one generation,
That's why this cemetery lies in the shadow of waves
Between the bosom of the sea and the vault celestial.
Hail to you, imperial galleys! Extinguish the torches,
Let the oars come to a blustering rest,
And when the Requiem prayers are said, steal away
into the dark night
inaudibly and with reverential awe.
I wish for the eternal silence to rule
and for the glorious dead to hear the noise of Battles,
And rejoice in our cries of victory, as we cast ourselves beneath
the wings of Glory upon the fields vermillion with blood.
For, there far away, battles sway
With the same blood that emanates from this resting-place:
Here above the eye of the resting lords,
There before the son's history is made.
That's why I seek peace, to officiate a Requiem
without words, without tears and quiet sighs,
Mingle with the odor of powder, the perfume of incense
As we hear resound the far noise of the cannon.
Hail to you, imperial galleys! In the name
of a conscientious fast
Glide lightly upon these sacred waters.
A Requiem I'm officiating, one that heavens
have yet to see upon these sacred waters!
The Serbs in Corfu
1920: The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending WWI.
Germany according to the Versailles Treaty
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1941: During the Greco-Italian War, and the Battle of Këlcyrë, the troops of the Greek I Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Vasilios Vrachnós) capture the strongly fortified town of Këlcyrë. General Umbaldo Soddu - C-in-C of the Italian Forces in the Greco-Italian War for a month - who had planted the fortifications himself, and had predicted to his officers that Clisura (Këlcyrë) will be the tomb of the Greek army, witnesses the Greeks, after the total repulse of six consecutive Italian counter-attacks, storming the Italian positions and entering the town. Col. Vincenzo Carla, CO of the Italian 140th Infantry Rgt (140° Reggimento Fanteria) withdrew 6 km (~4 miles) towards a valley, in order to avoid the complete encirclement of his 6,000 men. The Italians lost a quantity of war material; a number of arty pieces, trench-mortars, and MG were found abandoned. Some 300 prisoners were taken. A number of Italian soldiers were found frozen to death.
Two Greek soldiers with the Cross of Valour, after the capture of Këlcyrë (Clisura). From 28 October 1940 (Greek entrance to WWII) - 30 April 1941 (Greek capitulation to Germany), 135 Greek enlisted men received the Cross of Valour
1941: German Luftwaffe aircrafts surprise the RN Mediterranean fleet, which is escorting 3 merchant ships to Greece. 40 Junkers Ju-87 Stuka attack them, scoring 6 hits on aircraft carrier HMS "Illustrious" (87) and severely damaging her. HMS "Warspite" (03) also receives damage. Both ships make for Malta and arrive the next day.
1943: After a 55-minute bombardment by thousands of guns and rocket-launchers and employing the seven armies of the Don Front (General Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky), the Red Army begins Operation Ring, the final annihilation of the tattered remnants of 6. Armee (General der Panzertruppe Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus) defending themselves desperately against all odds in the ruins of Stalingrad.
1946: The first successful attempt to "touch" a celestial body: The U.S. Signal Corps, bounce radio signals off the moon and receive the reflected signals (Project Diana).
1981: During the Salvadoran Civil War, the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments of El Salvador.
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