On This Day!

[On This Day]

6th Jan 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England.

7th Jan 1919 - Montenegrin guerilla fighters rebel against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia, but fail.

8th Jan 1940 - Britain introduces food rationing.

9th Jan 1916 - The Battle of Gallipoli concludes with an Ottoman Empire victory, when the last Allied forces are evacuated from the peninsular.

10th Jan 49BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.

11th Jan 1942 - Japan declares war on the Netherlands and invades the Netherlands East Indies.

12th Jan 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople.

[On This Day]

13th Jan 1815 - War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St Mary's, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.

14th Jan 1943 - WWII: Franklin D Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office when he travels from Miami, Florida to Morocca to meet with Winston Churchill.

15th Jan 69 - Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.

16th Jan 550 - Gothic War (535-554): The Ostragoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.

17th Jan 1781 - American War of Independence: Battle of Cowpens - Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.

18th Jan 1944 - Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.

19th Jan 1871 - Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St Quentin.  Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.

[Rob]

I'm waiting for the 22nd, its my birthday. I know Rorkes Drift was the 22nd (it says so on the film) but was there anything else?

[On This Day]

20th Jan 1649 - Charles I goes on trial for treason and other 'high crimes'.

21st Jan 1968 - Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh - One of the most publicised and controversial battles of the war begins.

22nd Jan 1941 - WWII: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.
                    (And Rorke's Drift...  )

23rd Jan 1943 - WWII: Australian and American forces finally defeat the Japanese army in Papua.  This turning point in the Pacific marks the beginning of the end of Japanese aggression.

24th Jan 41 - Roman Emperor Caligula, known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards.  The Guard then proclaims Caligula's uncle Claudius as Emperor.

25th Jan 1942 - WWII: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.

26th Jan 1565 - Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan, leads to the sujugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.

[FierceKitty]

25th Jan 1942 - WWII: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.

Actually, attempts to declare war. The U.S. knew this was under unwelcome Japanese orders, and refused to accept the declaration.

[On This Day]

27th Jan 1943 - WWII: The VIII Bomber Command dispatched ninety-one B-17's and B-24's to attack the U-Boat constructions yards at Wilhelmshafen, Germany.  This was the first American bombing attack on Germany of the war.

28th Jan 1871 - FPW: the Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.

29th Jan 1918 - Ukrainian-Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kiev, is met by a small group of military students in the Battle of Kruty.

30th Jan 1945 - WWII: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, leading to the deadliest known maritime disaster, killing approximately 9,400 people.

31st Jan 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I.

1st Feb 1709 - Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

2nd Feb 1542 - Portuguese under Christovao da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hill fort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Bacente.

[On This Day]

3rd Feb 1706 - During the battle of Fraustadt, Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon-Polish-Russian force by deploying a double envelopment.

4th Feb 1820 - The Chilean Navy, under the command of Lord Cochrane, completes the 2 day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships.

5th Feb 1939 - Generalisimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th 'Caudillo de Espana', or Leader of Spain.

6th Feb 1942 - The United Kingdom declares war on Thailand...  

7th Feb 1897 - Greco-Turkish War: The first full-scale battle takes place when the Greek expeditionary force in Crete defeats a 4000-strong Ottoman force at Livadeia.

8th Feb 1945 - The United Kingdom and Canada commence Operation Veritable, to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.

9th Feb 1965 - Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops are sent to South Vietnam.

[On This Day]

10th Feb 1763 - French & Indian War: The 1763 Treaty of Paris ends the war, and France cedes Quebec to Great Britain.

11th Feb 55 - Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome.  This clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.

12th Feb 1593 - Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders lef by General Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.

13th Feb 1692 - Massacre of Glencoe: About 78 MacDonalds at Glen Coe are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new King, William of Orange.

14th Feb 1945 - Prague is bombed, probably due to a mistake in the orientation of the pilots bombing Dresden.

15th Feb 1942 - World War II: The Fall of Singapore: Following an assault by Japanese foces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders.  About 80,000 Indian, UK and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.

16th Feb 1646 - Battle of Torrington, Devon - the last major battle of the 1st English Civil War.

[On This Day]

17th Feb 1864 - ACW: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.

18th Feb 1900 - Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.

19th Feb 197 - Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.

20th Feb 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.

21st Feb 1937 - The League of Nations bans foreign national 'volunteers' in the Spanish Civil War.

22nd Feb 1847 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Buena Vista - 5,000 American troops defeat 15,000 Mexicans.

23rd Feb 1836 - The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.

[On This Day]

24th Feb 1917 - World War I: The U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas and Arizona to Mexico, if Mexico declares war on the United States.

25th Feb 1933 - The USS Ranger is launched.  It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier.

26th Feb 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.

27th Feb 1560 - The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland.

28th Feb 1939 - The erroneous word 'dord' is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, 2nd Edition, prompting an investigation.

29th Feb 1940 - Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations.

1st Mar 1901 - The Australian Army is formed.

[On This Day]

2nd Mar 1941 - World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joined the Axis Pact.

3rd Mar 1776 - The first amphibious landing of the US Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.

4th Mar 1665 - English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands, marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

5th Mar 1978 - Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.

6th Mar 1836 - Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo - After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and Colonel Jim Bowie, defending the the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.

7th Mar 1862 - American Civil War: Union forces defeat Confederate troops at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.

8th Mar 1937 - Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.

[On This Day]

9th Mar 1862 - American Civil War: The USS Monitor and CSS Monitor fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.

10th Mar 241BC - First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates Islands - The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.

11th Mar 1941 - World War II: President Franklin J Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.

12th Mar 1689 - The Williamite War in Ireland begins.

13th Mar 1809 - Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden is deposed in a coup d'etat.

14th Mar 1647 - Thirty Years War: Bavaria, Cologne, France and Sweden sign the Treaty of Ulm.

15th Mar 1781 - American War of Independence: Battle of Guilford Courthouse - Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400.

[goat major]

15th Mar 1781 - 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis

did he have any cavalry ? 

[Kiwidave]

1st Mar 1901 - The Australian Army is formed.

And the amount of British equipment to go missing increases tenfold 

[nikharwood]

 

[On This Day]

16th Mar 1812 - Peninsular War: Battle of Badajoz - British and Portuguese forces besieged and defeated the French garrison.

17th Mar 1776 - AWI: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.

18th Mar 1915 - World War I: Massive naval attack in the Battle of Gallipoli, as three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles.

19th Mar 1921 - Irish War of Independence: One of the biggest engagements of the war takes place at Crossbarry, County Cork.  About 100 Irish Republican Army volunteers escape an attempt by over 1,300 British forces to encircle them.

20th Mar 1815 - After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his '100 Days' rule.

21st Mar 1943 - Werhmacht officer Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plans falls through.  Von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.

22nd Mar 1849 - The Austrians defeat the Piedmontese at the Battle of Novara.

[On This Day]

23rd Mar 1879 - War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topater, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.

24th Mar 1944 - WWII: In an event later dramatised in the film 'The Great Escape', 76 prisoners begin breaking out of Stalag Luft III.

25th Mar 1306 - Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scotland.

26th Mar 1917 - WWI: First Battle of Gaza - British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.

27th Mar 1854 - Crimean War: The UK declares war on Russia.

28th Mar 1860 - First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.

29th Mar 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England.

[On This Day]

30th Mar 1939 - The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463mph.

31st Mar 1945 - WWII: A defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmidt Me 262A-1, the worlds first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft, to the Americans, the first to fall into Allied hands.

1st Apr 1945 - WWII: Operation Iceberg - United States troops land on Okinawa in the last campaign of the war.

2nd Apr 1982 - Falklands War - Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.

3rd Apr 1559 - The Peace of Cateau-Cambresis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.

4th Apr 1945 - WWII: Soviet Army takes control of Hungary.

5th Apr 1614 - In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.

[On This Day]

6th Apr 1199 - King Richard of England dies from an infection, following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder.

7th Apr 1906 - Mount Vesuvius erupts and devastates Naples.

8th Apr 1918 - WWI: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets if New York City's financial district.

9th Apr 1914 - Mexican Revolution: One of the world's first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coats of western Mexico.

10th Apr 1865 - American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E Lee addresses his troops for the last time.

11th Apr 1990 - Customs officers in Middlesbrough say they have seized what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.

12th Apr 1606 - The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of Great Britain.

[On This Day]

13th Apr 1868 - The Abyssinian War ends as British and Indian troops capture Maqdala.

14th Apr 1471 - The Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne.

15th Apr 1942 - The George Cross is awarded to the 'the island fortress of Malta - it's people and defenders' by King George VI.

16th Apr 1919 - Polish-Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.

17th Apr 1961 - Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban exiles lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.

18th Apr 1897 - The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.

19th Apr 1775 - AWI: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.