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Warfare Through the AgesRoman, Greek, Japanese, etc. Topics cover all manner of pre-modern warfare and empire-building and crushing.
1500 Pedro Cabral departed to India. The Portuguese navigator left Lisbon with 13 ships headed for India and was ultimately blown off course. 1734 The Russians took Danzig (Gdansk) in Poland. 1847 Amphibious assault near Vera Cruz, Mexico: It was successfully landed by Commodore David Connor. The US forces under General Winfield Scott invaded Mexico (Mexican-American War) 3 miles south of Vera Cruz. Encountering almost no resistance from the Mexicans massed in the fortified city of Vera Cruz, by nightfall the last of Scott's 10,000 men came ashore without the loss of a single life. It was the largest amphibious landing in U.S. history until WW II. 1861 First hostile act of the Civil War: It occurred when Star of the West fires on Sumter, S.C. 1861 Confederate Congress authorizes paper currency: $50, $100, $500, $1,000. 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads II: USS Monitor, designed by John Ericsson and built in 100 days, fights CSS Virginia (former USS Merrimac) to an ironclad draw. 1864 1st Lt General since Washington: President Abraham Lincoln officially commissioned Ulysses S. Grant the first Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army since George Washington. After leading Union victories in the West in 1862-63, Lincoln gave Grant supreme command of the Union forces in the revived rank. 1915 The Germans take Grodno on the Eastern Front. 1916 Germany declares war against Portugal. 1916 Pancho Villa attacks US: He led 1,500 horsemen in a night raid on Columbus, New Mexico. Seventeen US soldiers and citizens were killed as the town was looted and burned. President Woodrow Wilson responded by ordering General John J. “Black Jack” Pershing to “pursue and disperse” the bandits. 1918 Bolshevick Party changes stipes when it becomes the Communist Party in Russia. 1921 Armored cruiser Brooklyn stricken from the Navy List. 1924 Italy annexes Fiume. 1932 Eamon De Valera becomes president of Ireland. 1941 Action in the Pacific:
*Heavy cruisers USS Chicago and USS Portland, light cruisers USS Brooklyn and USS Savannah, nine destroyers and oiler Sangamon, that had departed Pearl Harbor on 3 March arrive at Samoa. 1942 Ernest J. King promoted:, Already CINCUS, he is also named CNO. 1942 Action in the Pacific:
*Submarine Swordfish disembarks U.S. High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands Francis B. Sayre and his party (embarked since 24 February) at Fremantle, Australia. The collapse of the ABDA command has led to this change of destination.
*Java surrenders to the Japanese. 1942 Action in the Atlantic:
*Naval Air Transport Service Squadron (VR 1) is established at Norfolk, Virginia, for operations in Atlantic area.
*U.S. freighter Alcoa Scout rescues survivors of U.S. freighter Mary, sunk by German submarine U-129 on 3 March.
*Brazilian steamship Cayru is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-94 at 39°10'N, 72°02'W. 1943 Action in the Pacific:
*Naval aircraft bomb Japanese installations at Munda, Solomons. Bombing of this area becomes a regular occurrence.
*Submarine S-32 is damaged by Japanese depth charges off Holtz Bay, Attu Island, Aleutians.
*In NE New Guinea, Japanese aircraft conduct a major raid on Wau. 1943 Action in the Atlantic:
*Battle to protect convoy SC 121 continues as Coast Guard cutters USCG Bibb and USCG Ingham and destroyer USS Babbitt reinforce the escorts. USS Babbitt proves her worth this day as she helps keep U-boats down. Despite the efforts of the escorts, however, German submarine U-409 torpedoes U.S. freighter Malantic at 59°30'N, 24°00'W, which is abandoned in a gale; 19 merchant seamen, five Armed Guard sailors and the ship's sole passenger perish in the attempt to reach British rescue vessel Melrose Abbey. Malantic will sink the next day.
*German submarine U-510 carries out series of attacks on ships of convoy BT 6, which is escorted by destroyer USS Borie, gunboats USS Courage and USS Tenacity and two submarine chasers, off Cayenne, French Guayana. U-510 torpedoes U.S. freighters George G. Meade, Mark Hanna, James Smith, Thomas Ruffin and James K. Polk at 07°11'N, 52°30'W. George G. Meade suffers no casualties to either her merchant crew or the Armed Guard, and returns to service; Mark Hanna is abandoned by most of the crew, submarine chaser PC-592 rescuing the men while a portion of the complement remains on board to prepare the ship to be towed; after repairs, she returns to active service. James Smith suffers the loss of six merchant sailors and five Armed Guard seamen in the initial explosion, and is partially abandoned, with submarine chaser PC-592 rescuing a portion of the crew. The ship, however, will be towed to Trinidad by British tug Zwarte Zee and will eventually re-enter active service. Thomas Ruffin is partially abandoned, with Courage and PC-592 rescuing crewmen (four of the ship's merchant complement and two of the 15-man Armed Guard are killed); the ship will eventually be written off as a total loss. James K. Polk (one Armed Guard sailor is killed when the ship is torpedoed--the only casualty) is partially abandoned, with PC-592 serving as the rescuing agent; the master and a volunteer crew rig tarpaulins and with those makeshift sails proceed some 360 miles. Eventually towed to Trinidad and thence to Mobile, Alabama, James K. Polk will be written off as a total loss.
*U.S. freighter Puerto Rican, straggling from convoy RA 53, is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-586 at 66°44'N, 10°41'W'; of the 40-man merchant complement and 25-man Armed Guard, only one man of the former will survive the abandonment in the below-freezing environment in which the sinking takes place. 1944 Action in the Pacific:
*In the South China Sea, submarine USS Lapon, continuing her pursuit of Japanese convoy engaged the previous day, sinks merchant cargo ships Toyokuni Maru, 19°21'N, 116°09'E, and Nicherei Maru (the ship that was towing her) 19°21'N, 116°09'E (see 8 March). Gunboat Peking Maru carries out ineffective counterattack against Lapon.
PBYs bomb Japanese shipping off Hollandia, sinking the previously damaged Hasshu Maru and small cargo ships Yashima Maru and No.12 Genei Maru, and damaging Tenryu Maru.
*USAAF B-25s bomb Japanese installations and dock area, Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, sinking small cargo vessels Mankei Maru and Kinka Maru.
*USAAF B-24 sinks small Japanese cargo vessel No.1 Kissho Maru off Greenwich Island. 1944 Veen falls to 4th Canadian Division, in Germany as the Battle of the Rhineland begins to wind down. 1944 Action in the Atlantic:
*Naval Air Facility (Lighter than Air), Santa Cruz, Brazil, is established.
*Destroyer escort USS Leopold is torpedoed by German submarine U-255, 650 miles west of Scotland. 1944 Action in the Mediterranean:
*Destroyer USS Edison sinks German submarine U-450 off Anzio, 41°11'N, 12°27'E.
*U.S. freighter Clark Mills is damaged by mine off North African coast, 37°18'N, 10°13'E; beached off Bizerte,the ship is later written off as a total loss. There are no casualties to either the merchant crew, passengers, or the 42-man Armed Guard. 1945 Action in the Mediterranean:
*Motor torpedo boats PT-304, PT-308 and PT-313 engage German flak lighters off Point Mesco, Italy, claiming one sunk, one hit, and one possibly hit; PT-304 is damaged by shrapnel during the attack. During retirement, however, PT-308 is damaged when she is accidentally rammed by PT-304. 1945 Action in European waters:
*Submarine chaser PC-564, outgunned and badly damaged, manages to outrun the German force engaged late on 8 March and is grounded on the French coast at Pierre de Herpin light. French fishing boats arrive to help the wounded, and the next day, PC-564 is towed into St. Malo harbor. Shortly after PC-564 is knocked out of action, German raiding party attacks Granville, demolishing installations, releasing German POWs held there, and sinking small British freighters Kyle Castle, Nephrite, and Parkwood, and Norwegian merchantman Heien. The Germans seize collier Eskwood and tow her to Jersey, in the Channel Islands. German minesweeper M 412 runs aground and is blown up when it is realized that extricating her from her predicament is impossible in the time allowed. 1945 Action in the Pacific:
*PB4Y carries out unsuccessful attack on submarine chaser Ch 21, 22°23'N, 115°03'E.
*Japanese attack French garrisons in Indochina, massacring thousands of troops.
*US Fire Storms Tokyo: 334 U.S. B29 bombers launched incendiary bomb attacks causing widespread devastation. At least 120,000 die in Tokyo. 1974 The last Japanese soldier surrenders: A guerrilla operating in Philippines, surrendered, 29 years after World War II ended.
241 -BC- Battle of Aegusa: Roman fleet sinks 50 Carthagean ships. 418 Jews are exclued from public office in the Roman Empire. 1734 Spanish army under Don Carlos III enters Naples. 1783 John Barry's USS Alliance takes HMS Sybil. 1806 Battle of Campo Tenese: French defeat the Neapolitans. 1814 Battle of Laon: Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated by a combined Allied Army in France 1861 First "service medal" issued: Britain's Waterloo Medal. 1864 Red River Campaign, LA, begins. 1865 Battle of Monroe's Crossroads, NC. 1868 The first contingent of Canadian Pontifical Zouaves arrives in Rome early this afternoon. There are 36 volunteers from Quebec in this group; in time, they will be joined by almost 500 more recruits. The troops have offered to serve Pope Pius IX in his defence of the Papal States against Garibaldi and the forces of Italian unification. Only two will be wounded in the fighting. 1902 The Boers last victory over the British capturing British General Methuen and 200 men. 1915 Battle of Neuve Chapelle, Belgium. 1927 Albania mobilizes, claiming threat from Yugoslavia. 1927 Hitler barred from speaking in Bavaria. 1940 Germany invades Beglium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and France. 1941 Action in the Pacific:
*Japan steps in to mediate undeclared war between France and Thailand; France cedes territory to Thailand and gives Japan monopoly of Indochinese rice crop and right to airfield at Saigon.
*Rear Admiral Edward J. Marquart is detached as Commander Minecraft Battle Force. 1941 Vichy France threaten to use its navy if Britain would not allow food to reach France. 1942 Action in the Pacific:
*TF 11, which includes ships of TF 17, on the heels of initial nuisance raids by RAAF Hudsons, attacks Japanese invasion fleet off Lae and Salamaua, New Guinea. SBDs (VB 2, VS 2, VB 5, VS 5) and TBDs (VT 2, VT 5), supported by F4Fs (VF 3 and VF 42) from carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown sink armed merchant cruiser Kongo Maru, auxiliary minelayer Ten'yo Maru, and transport Yokohama Maru; and damage light cruiser IJN Yubari; destroyers IJN Yunagi, IJN Asanagi, IJN Oite, IJN Asakaze, and IJN Yakaze; minelayer IJN Tsugaru; seaplane carrier Kiyokawa Maru; transport Kokai Maru; and minesweeper No.2 Tama Maru. One SBD (VS 2) is lost to antiaircraft fire. USAAF B-17s and RAAF Hudsons conduct follow up strikes but inflict no appreciable additional damage. In a message to Prime Minister Churchill, President Roosevelt hails the raid as "the best day's work we've had." The success of the U.S. carrier strike - the first time in which two carrier air groups attack a common objective - convinces Japanese war planners that continued operations in the New Guinea area will require carrier support, thus setting the stage for confrontation in the Coral Sea.
*Japanese invade Finschhafen, New Guinea.
*Japanese collier Kosei Maru is sunk by mine in Lingayen Gulf, P.I., 16°05'N, 120°20'E.
*USMC F2As (VMF 221) from Midway shoot down Japanese reconnaissance flying boat (Yokosuka Kokutai) attempting to reconnoiter the atoll.
* MacArthur appoints Maj General Johnathan Wainwright commander on Luzon. 1942 Action in the Atlantic:
*US tanker Gulftrade is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-588 about two miles east of Barnegat, New Jersey, 39°50'N, 73°52'W; net tender Larch and cutter USCG Antietam, along with Eagle Boat PE-48 and Coast Guard motor lifeboats from the Barnegat station are sent to the scene. Larch rescues seven survivors; USCG Antietam nine. 1942 NY's 27th Inf Div sails for Hawaii - first division to go overseas in WW II. 1944 Burma: Chinese troops and Merrill's Marauders capture the Walawbum Valley. 1944 Action in the Pacific:
*Submarine USS Bowfin in attack on Japanese convoy in Tabalai Strait, damages army cargo ship Tsukikawa Maru at 01°28'S, 128°12'E. Escorts carry out ineffective counterattack.
*Submarine chaser SC-700 is destroyed and fuel oil barge YO-44 is damaged by fire, Vella Lavella, Solomon Islands.
*PBY bombs and sinks Japanese army cargo ship Hasshu Maru off Hollandia, New Guinea. 1944 Action in the Atlantic:
*Destroyer escort USS Leopold irreparably damaged by German submarine U-255, 650 miles west of Scotland, on 9 March, is scuttled by destroyer escort USS Joyce. 1944 Action in the Mediterranean:
*U.S. freighter William B. Woods is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-952 approximately 47 miles off Palermo, Sicily, 38°43'N, 13°50'E; one of the 28-man Armed Guard and 51 of the 407 Army troops being transported in the ship perish. There are no casualties among the 43-man merchant complement. Escorting Italian destroyer escort DMB Aretusa provides no help. 1945 Japan declares Vietnam independence under "Emperor" Bao Dai. 1945 Action in the Pacific:
*Approximately 300 B-29s bomb Tokyo at night with almost 2,000 tons of incendiaries killing 100,000 in the resultant firestorm.
*US troops land on Mindanao. 1945 Canadian forces begin their advance on the western suburbs of Xanten. This town represents the last large urban obstacle to crossing the Rhine. The Canadians reach their objectives by midday and clear the town by the following morning. 1945 Patton's 3rd Army contacts Hodge's 1st Army. 1945 German's destroy the Wessel Bridge on the Rhine. 1948 Jets begin regular operations from a carrier, VF-5A off USS Boxer. 1952 Military coup in Cuba by General Fulgencio Batista. 1959 Tibetan uprising against Chinese occupation in Lhasa.
dOH! Almost forgot this... another very busy day. Sorry!
March 11
222 Varius A. Bassianus (18), Syrian Emperor of Rome (218-22), was murdered. 537 Goths besiege Belisarius in Rome 1302 Romeo and Juliet were married on this day, according to Shakespeare. War??? 1649 The Peace of Rueil was signed between the Frondeurs (rebels) and the French government. 1666 A French strike force, decimated by exposure and harrying Iroquois attacks, arrives in Montreal after having lost 100 men from an original force of 500. 1779 US Army Corps of Engineers established 1795 Battle at Kurdla, India: Mahratten beat Moguls. 1810 Emperor Napoleon marries Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria by proxy 1861 Confederate convention in Montgomery, adopts constitution 1824 The U.S. War Department created the Bureau of Indian Affairs. A lifelong friend and trusted aide of Ulysses S. Grant, Ely Parker rose to the top in two worlds, that of his native Seneca Indian tribe and the white man's world at large. He went on to become the first Indian to lead the Bureau. 1845 Seven hundred Maoris led by their chief, Hone-Heke, burned the small town of Kororareka in protest at the settlement of Maoriland by Europeans, in breach with the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi. 1862 Lincoln confines George B. McClellen's command to the Army of the Potomac 1862 Lincoln makes Henry Halleck general-in-chief 1863 A naval engagement occurred between the CSS Alabama and the USS Hatteras. 1863 Union troops under General Ulysses S. Grant gave up their preparations to take Vicksburg after failing to pass Fort Pemberton, north of Vicksburg. 1865 General Sherman and his forces occupied Fayetteville, N.C. Union General William Sherman considered Judson Kilpatrick, his cavalry chief, "a hell of a damn fool." At Monroe's Cross Roads, N.C., his carelessness and disobedience of orders proved Sherman's point. 1884 A bad day in Khartoum: General Gordon learned that the telegraph cable to Cairo had been cut. Khartoum soldiers killed 5 Mahdists at Halfaya. Mahdist insurgents in return massacred 150 men from the Khartoum garrison as they were cutting wood. 1917 British troops capture Baghdad 1918 Bolsheviks make Moscow capital of Russia 1935 Hermann Goering made the German Airforce an official organ of the Reich. 1938 The Anschluss: Germany begins occupation of Austria, completed March 13 1941 FDR signs the Lend-Lease Act. 1942 Paris: First deportation train leaves for Auschwitz 1942 Pacific:
*Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur and Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell depart Luzon, with their respective staffs, in motor torpedo boats PT-32,PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41, bound for Mindanao. For his role in the evacuation, as well as other operations in the Philippines since the start of hostilities, Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, Commander, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, will receive the Medal of Honor.
*Submarine USS Pollack, operating in the East China Sea about 270 miles east of Shanghai, sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Fukushu Maru, 30°53'N, 126°20'E and passenger-cargo ship Baikal Maru, 31°00'N, 126°32'E.
*Japanese troops begin landing on Northern Sumatra. 1942 Atlantic:
Unarmed U.S. freighter Texan is torpedoed, shelled, and sunk by German submarine U-126 about 40 miles east of Nuevitas, Cuba, 21°32'N, 76°24'W; Cuban fishing boat Yoyo rescues survivors.
*Unarmed U.S. freighter Caribsea is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-158 about 14 miles east of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, 34°40'N, 76°10'W; U.S. freighter Norlindo rescues survivors.
*Coastal minesweeper AMc-202, at 40°32'N, 71°40'W, rescues seven survivors from Brazilian steamship Cayru, sunk by German submarine U-94 on 9 March, and transports them to New London, Connecticut. 1943 American Volunteer Group ("Flying Tigers") renamed Fourteenth Air Force 1944 Pacific:
Japanese submarine RO-110 is sunk by Indian Navy sloop HMIS Jumna and Australian minesweepers *HMAS Ipswich and HMAS Launceston 17 miles south of Vizagapatam, 17°25'N, 83°21'E.
*Submarine USS Bowfin sinks Japanese army cargo ship Tsukikawa Maru, west of Halmahera Island, 01°25'S, 128°14'E. Japanese minelayer IJN Wakatake and army aircraft carry out ineffective counterattack on USS Bowfin, which attacks, unsuccessfully, Asaka Maru, which is rescuing Tsukikawa Maru's survivors.
*Japanese cargo ship Daitoku Maru is sunk in collision with cargo ship No.6 Daiboshi Maru in the Sea of Japan, 40°10'N, 137°41'E. 1944 Mediterranean:
*Commander Cruiser Division 8 breaks flag in French light cruiser FS Emile Bertin and takes operational command of FS Emile Bertin, FS Gloire, FS Georges Leygues, and FS Duguay-Trouin for training purposes.
*USAAF aircraft sink German submarines U-380 and U-410, Toulon, France. 1945 In European waters:
*LCVPs (TG 122.5.1) go into action 200 miles from the sea, sailors assisting in erecting and maintaining an army pontoon bridge at the Remagen bridgehead. Navy support of the army's crossing the Rhine River proves invaluable and adds greatly to the successful invasion of the enemy's homeland.
*USAAF heavy bombers (Eighth Air Force) sink German submarines U-2515 and U-2530 during raid on Hamburg, Germany.
*PB4Y-1 (VPB 103) sinks German submarine U-681 southwest of the Scilly Islands, 49°53'N, 06°31'W. 1945 Pacific
*Army troops, landed on 10 March, take Zamboanga, Mindanao
*Japanese land attack planes [FRANCES] - flying directly from Kanoya, Japan - attack U.S. fleet anchorage at Ulithi Atoll; One FRANCES kamikaze crashes the carrier USS Randolph in its position on 'Murderers Row' 10°01'N, 139°40'E, and another crashes USS Sorlen Island. Salvage vessel USNS Current is damaged by collision with USS Randolph during fire-fighting operations.
*Submarine USS Segundo sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Shori Maru off Shori Island southern Korea, 34°25'N, 127°54'E.
*PBM-3D (VPB 28) attacks Japanese convoy in South China Sea, sinking water carrier Wayo Maru about 40 miles southeast of Macao, 21°31'N, 112°28'E.
*USAAF B-25s bomb Japanese shipping off Tourane, French Indochina, sinking motor sailships Kinsei Maru, Namikiri Maru and No.3 Hinode Maru.
*Japanese merchant trawler Koko Maru is sunk by USAAF mine in Yangtze River, 31°22'N, 121°34'E. 1945 Air attack on Essen: 1,000 Allied bombers drop 4,662 tons of bombs visiting immense destruction upon the city. 1949 HMCS Crescent arrives at Nanking at 5:00 this evening. The warship has made the journey up the Yangtze River in case Canadian nationals need to be evacuated from mainland China. (Chinese Nationalist and Communist forces are at war.) The vessel's stay in these waters will be uneventful. 1958 B-47E accidentally drops a Mk 6 30 kiloton atomic bomb, Mars Bluff, SC 1966 Military coup in Indonesia led by Gen Suharto 1985 Mikhail S Gorbachev succeeds the late Konstantin Chernenko as Soviet leader 1990 Lithuania declares independence form the USSR.
1212 Frederick II "Stupor Mundi" lands at Gaeta to assert his claim to Naples 1496 Jews are expelled from Syria 1569 Zigmantas Augustas broke away from Lithuania and attached Volinija and Palenki to Poland. 1799 Austria declares war on France. 1809 Great Britain signs a treaty with Persia: Forcing the French out of the country is its primary aim. 1848 Second French Republic established. 1863 The Battle of Raymond, Mississippi. 1865 Skirmish near Lone Jack, Missouri. 1867 Last French troops leave Mexico, abandoning the Emperor Maximilian. 1879 The British Zulu War begins: Colonel Henry Evelyn Wood had expected little trouble as his cavalry ascended Holbane Mountain. What he got was a Zulu army, 22,000 men strong. 1909 Parliament increases naval appropriations for Britain. 1917 Russian troops mutiny: It becomes known as the "February Revolution." 1938 The Anschluss is fully underway: Germany invaded Austria after the Austrian Nazi Party invited German troops. The union came to be know as the Anschluss. Hitler took over Austria, as his mission to restore his homeland to the Third Reich, and a chunk of Czechoslovakia. The Nazis took over Austria and expelled all Jews and other political opponents from the universities. 1940 Russo-Finnish War ends: Finland and the Soviet Union concluded an armistice during World War II effectively ending the 'Winter War'. Finnish desire to win back territory lost to Soviet encroachment (city of Viborg and areas along Finland's eastern borders) will push them closer toward the Axis. Fighting between the two countries flared again the following year. 1941 German occupiers confiscate AVRO studios in Netherlands 1941 Pacific:
*Heavy cruisers USS Chicago and USS Portland, accompanied by destroyers USS Clark, USS Conyngham, USS Cassin, USS Downes, and USS Reid depart Samoan waters for Sydney, Australia. Light cruisers USS Brooklyn, USS Savannah, and destroyers USS Case, USS Shaw, and USS Cummings steam for Auckland, New Zealand. Oiler Sangamon, that had accompanied the aforementioned cruisers and destroyers from Pearl Harbor, sets course for Hawaiian waters. 1941 Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, Texas, is established. 1942 British garrison of Port Blair, Andaman Is., evacuated by sea. 1942 Admiral Ernest J King becomes CinCUS & CNO: By executive order President Roosevelt combines duties of Commander in Chief US Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations . 1942 Pacific:
*U.S. Army troops arrive on New Caledonia to establish a base at Nouméa.
*Japanese troops land at Sabang, in northern Sumatra. 1942 Atlantic:
*U.S. tanker John D. Gill is torpedoed and irreparably damaged by German submarine U-158 off Frying Pan Shoals, 33°55'N, 77°39'W. Four of the seven-man Armed Guard are lost. Cutter USCG-186 and cutter USCG Agassiz rescue one group of survivors, tanker Robert H. Colley the remainder. John D. Gill sinks the next morning.
*German submarine U-126 torpedoes unarmed U.S. freighters off the coast of Cuba, sinking Olga off Camaguey, 23°39'N, 77°00'W, and damaging Colabee about 10 miles off Cape Guajaba, 22°14'N, 77°35'W. Colabee drifts ashore and grounds on a shoal; Cuban ship Oriente rescues one group of survivors (and then tows the damaged ship off the shoal), tanker Cities Service Kansas the other. Cuban Navy vessels later salvage the ship.
*First British armed trawlers sent to augment U.S. Navy patrol force efforts off the German submarine-plagued Eastern Seaboard, HMS Wastwater and HMS Le Tigre, begin patrol operations in Third Naval District waters. They are assigned duties off Atlantic City and Barnegat, New Jersey. 1942 Joseph Stilwell arrives in Burma as combined U.S. and Chinese commander. 1943 Soviet troops liberate Vyazma 1943 Pacific:
*Submarine USS Plunger sinks Japanese water carrier Taihosan Maru off Ponape, Carolines, 07°15'N, 159°10'E. 1943 U.S. holds a "Pacific Military Conference," in Washington, to discuss plans. 1943 Atlantic:
*German submarines begin gathering to attack convoy UGS 6, which is being shepherded by seven U.S. destroyers. USS Champlin sinks U-130 (which had first sighted UGS 6), 37°10'N, 40°21'W.
*HMS Quadrant rescues ten survivors from sunken U.S. freighter City of Flint after 46 days on a lifeboat. Survivors include 3 Naval Armed Guards.
*Destroyer USS Belknap rescues seven Armed Guard sailors, survivors from freighter Jonathan Sturges, along with three Dutch seamen from torpedoed motorship Madoera, both merchantmen the victims of U-707 on 23 February 1943.
*Sole survivor of U.S. freighter Puerto Rican, torpedoed and sunk on 9 March by German submarine U-586 as the former straggled from convoy RA 53, is rescued by British trawler HMS St. Elstan. 1944 Pacific:
*Submarine USS Flying Fish sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Taijin Maru about 10 miles northwest of Daito Jima, approximately 175 miles southeast of the Ryukyus, 25°53'N, 131°19'E.
*Submarine USS Gato sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.3 Okinoyama Maru north of New Guinea, 01°15'S, 133°20'E.
*PBYs attack Japanese convoy en route to Hollandia, sinking motor sailboat Hosho Maru.
*Heavy fighting on the Shimbu Line on Luzon. 1944 Mediterranean:
*Submarine chaser PC-624 is damaged when she runs aground three miles east of Palermo, Sicily.
*Light cruisers USS Philadelphia and USS Brooklyn provide gunfire support off Anzio; they repeat the missions on the 13th. On both occasions they encounter shore battery fire without damage. 1945 Incendiary balloon shot down near Coal Harbour, on Vancouver Island. Launched from Japan and carried across the Pacific by winter winds, the enemy expects them to land in Canada's forests and begin huge fires. Unfortunately for the Japanese, most of the intended target areas are covered in snow and mist - hardly conducive to massive conflagrations. 1945 Pacific:
*Japanese guardboats No.1 Hinode Maru and Shosei Maru, are sunk by U.S. aircraft east of the Ryukyus, 26°54'N, 131°38'E
*Heavy fighting on the Shimbu Line on Luzon. 1945 USSR gives Transylvania to Romania 1945 30 people executed in Amsterdam at the hand of its Nazi occupiers. 1945 A Japanese incendiary balloon is shot down near Coal Harbour, on Vancouver Island. Launched from Japan and carried across the Pacific by winter winds, the enemy expects them to land in Canada's forests and begin huge fires. Unfortunately for the Japanese, most of the intended target areas are covered in snow and mist - hardly conducive to massive conflagrations. 1946 Part of Petsamo province ceded by Soviet Union to Finland 1947 Truman Doctrin unveiled: Pres. Truman outlined the Truman Doctrine of economic and military aid to nations threatened by Communism. The doctrine was intended to speed recovery of Mediterranean countries. He specifically requested aid for Greece and Turkey to resist Communism. 1951 North Korean/Red Chinese troops driven out of Seoul 1957 German DR accepts Soviet troops They come in the form of 22 Russian armed divisions. 1981 Soyuz T-4 carries 2 Cosmonauts to Salyut 6 space station 1985 US & USSR begin arms control talks They are held in Geneva. 1992 UN Security Council stands firm with Iraq: It demands that Iraq comply totally with Gulf War cease-fire resolutions, rebuffing an appeal for leniency from Saddam Hussein's special envoy, deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz. The issue will not be settled for more than a decade. 1993 Terrorist bomb attack in Bombay, 317 die 1999 Poland, Hungary & the Czech Republic join NATO: It formaly occurs in a ceremony at Independence, Mo., where Pres. Truman announced in 1949 the formation of the Atlantic alliance for defense against the Soviet bloc.
538 - Vittigis, king of the Goths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Roman general, Belisarius.
1664 - New Jersey becomes a colony of Britain.
1868 - Henry James O'Farrell attempts to assassinate Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh.
1968 - Mauritius achieves independence.
__________________ All warfare is based on deception. Sun Tzu - Art of war - Chapter One - Laying Plans
1401 1st Samogitian uprising supported by Vytautas took place against the German knights. 1519 Cortez lands in Mexico: The Spaniards landed at Veracruz in Mexico with 10 stallions, 5 mares and a foal. 1569 Battle of Jarnac: Count of Anjou defeats the Huguenots. Louis Conde, French Prince & co-leader of Huguenots KIA. 1777 Congress ordered its European envoys to appeal to high-ranking foreign officers to send troops to reinforce the American army. 1792 Cape Noli: Battle begins between Anglo-Neapolitan and French fleets. 1836 King's Defeat: Small Texian band loses to a larger Mexican force. 1861 Jefferson Davis signs a bill authorizing slaves to be used as soldiers for the Confederacy. 1865 Confederate Congress authorizes enlistment of up to 300,000 slaves as soldiers. 1881 Alexander II, Tsar of Russia, was assassinated. A bomb was thrown at him near his palace by the anarchist group People’s Will led by Sophia Perovskaya. He was succeeded by his son Alexander III. A wave of repression and persecution followed. 1884 The Mahdi seige of Khartoum begins: It was defended by General "Chinese" Gordon who ordered a counter-attack at Halfaya and troops rescued some 500 from a Mahdist assault. 1895 Spanish warship Reina Regente sinks off Gibraltar, 402 die. 1895 Award of first submarine building contract to John P. Holland Torpedo Boat Co. 1915 Germans repell a British Expeditionary Force attack at the battle of Neuve Chapelle in France. 1915 No. 2 General Hospital enters France upon crossing the English Channel. There are already 35 nursing sisters from the Dominion working with the wounded from the Western Front. The care given by these women will be a welcome relief to many allied troops. 1917 Armed merchant ships authorized to take action against U-boats. 1920 The "Kapp Putcsh" in Berlin fails. 1921 Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China. 1933 Josef Gobbels becomes Hitler's Minister of Information & Propaganda. 1940 Fleet Landing Exercise (FLEX) No. 6 concludes at Culebra, Puerto Rico. The Fleet Marine Force makes progress in developing techniques for rubber boat landings, getting heavy combat materiel ashore, and improving ship-to-shore supply. 1941 Hitler issued an edict calling for an invasion of the USSR. 1942 Pacific:
*Small reconnaissance seaplane from Japanese submarine I-25 reconnoiters Auckland, New Zealand.
Lieutenant General Douglas MacArthur and Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, with their respective staffs, reach Cagayan, Mindanao, after a 560-mile voyage in heavy to moderate seas, in motor torpedo boats PT-32, PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41. PT-32 becomes disabled during the operation, and is scuttled by gunfire of submarine USS Permit one mile southwest of Taguayan Island, P.I., 10°58'N, 121°12'E.
*Submarine USS Gar torpedoes and sinks Japanese victualling stores ship Chichibu Maru between six and ten miles southwest of Mikura Jima, south of Tokyo Bay, Japan, 33°53'N, 139°29.5'E.
*Japanese minesweeper No.2 Tama Maru sinks as the result of damage inflicted by U.S. Navy carrier-based planes on 10 March during the Lae-Salamaua Raid.
*Japanese troops land on Buka, in the Bismarcks, and begin building an airfield. 1942 Atlantic:
*Unarmed U.S. schooner Albert F. Paul is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-332 off the east coast of the United States, 26°00'N, 72°00'W. There are no survivors.
*Chilean freighter Tolten is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-404 off Barnegat, New Jersey, 40°10'N, 73°50'W; subsequently, plane en route from Langley Field to Mitchell Field sights one survivor on a life raft at 39°50'N, 73°40'W; Cutter USCG Antietam, coastal minesweeper AMc-200 are sent to the scene; NAS Lakehurst sends three L-type blimps, one of which, L 2, ultimately sights the raft seen earlier that day. Net tender Larch rescues the one survivor of what was a crew of between 16 and 21 men. 1943 Pacific:
*Submarine USS Grayback damages Japanese transport Noshiro Maru 100 miles northwest of Bismarck Archipelago, 00°10'S, 151°06'E.
*Submarine USS Sunfish sinks Japanese merchant cargo ship Kosei Maru near Tokara Jima, Ryukyus, 29°04'N, 129°17'E.
*Dutch submarine O 21 sinks Japanese cargo ship Kasuga Maru off Port Blair, Andaman Islands, 11°40'N, 92°50'E.
*USAAF B-17s bomb Japanese convoy off Wewak, sinking cargo vessel Momoyama Maru; submarine USS Greenling witnesses attacks. 1943 Atlantic:
*German submarine U-68 attacks Aruba-bound convoy GAT 49, and torpedoes U.S. tanker Cities Service Missouri, at 14°10'N, 74°40'W. Destroyer USS Biddle rescues survivors, who include the 11-man Armed Guard. 1943 Mediterranean:
*German submarine U-172 torpedoes U.S. freighter Keystone, straggling from convoy UGS 6, at 38°10'N, 37°58'W. The initial explosion kills one Armed Guard sailor and a merchant seaman; these are the only casualties suffered by the ship, which is abandoned. Portuguese steamship Sines rescues the survivors. 1943 Failed assassin attempt on Hitler during Smolensk-Rastenburg flight. 1943 Japanese 55th Div attacks the Indian 14th Indian Div in the Arakan. 1944 Pacific:
Submarine USS Sand Lance attacks Japanese convoy off Honshu, sinking light cruiser IJN Tatsuta and cargo ship Kokuyo Maru 150 miles south-southwest of Yokosuka, 32°48'N, 139°08'E. Following those attacks, Japanese escort vessels drop 105 depth charges and keep USS Sand Lance at deep submergence for 18.5 hours.
*Submarine USS Tautog sinks Japanese army cargo ship Ry_a Maru and transport Shojin Maru about 20 miles west of Rashuwa Island, Kurils, 47°38'N, 152°38'E.
*PBYs bomb Japanese shipping off Pelillo Island, 02°09'S, 140°19'E, sinking small cargo ship Hara Maru. 1944 Indian Ocean:
*U.S. tanker H.D.Collier is torpedoed and shelled by Japanese submarine I-26 at 21°30'N, 66°11'E, and abandoned; of the 28-man Armed Guard, 12 perish in the action. 1944 Atlantic:
TBF (VC 95) from escort carrier USS Bogue, along with destroyer USS Hobson, destroyer escort USS Haverfield, Canadian armed merchant cruiser HMCS Prince Rupert, and British Flying Fortress (No.220 Squadron) sink German submarine U-575, North Atlantic,46°18'N, 27°34'W. 1945 Indian 26th Div in amphibious "end run" to trap Japanese in the Arakan. 1945 Pacific:
*USAAF B-24s and B-25s on antishipping sweeps off the China coast between Foochow and Hong Kong attack Japanese convoy KAI-311, sinking cargo vessels No.12 Aikoku Maru and 37 Kokoku Maru,18 Tarumizu Maru and No.34 Tarumizu Maru.
*USAAF B-24s (5th Air Force) sink Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.66 and transport Masajima Maru in South China Sea east of Swatow, 23°30'N, 117°10'E.
*Army barge PSB 111 runs aground on northeast side of Seguam Island Aleutians, but is pulled free by fleet tug Sarsi. 1945 Queen Wilhelmina returns to Netherlands after nearly five years of exile. 1945 Peru declares war on Germany. 1957 Havana: Anti-Batista demonstration sparks bloody rioting. 1963 Russian conduct two reconnasissance flights over Alaska. 1963 USS Albany and aircraft from Navy Airborne Early Warning Squadron Four from Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico aid five ill crewmembers of Norwegian freighter Jotunfjell. 1990 Indian troops leave Sri Lanka. 1992 Canadian engineers arrive in Duravar, Croatia. A brutal civil war has been tearing apart Yugoslovia and the 300 Canadians are present to clear away minefields and build shelters for U.N. troops.
1862 - American Civil War: The US federal government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.
1757 Admiral John Byng executed by a firing squad on board HMS Monarch for neglect of duty. 1792 Cape Noli: Anglo-Neapolitan fleet defeats French. (began Mar 13th) 1812 Congress authorizes war bonds to finance War of 1812. 1836 Battle of Refugio: Mexicans capture Texian force. 1862 Battle of New Bern, NC: General Burnside conquered the city which was a strategic port and rail hub. 1863 Rear Admiral David Farragut's squadron of 7 ships forces way up Mississippi River to support Union troops at Vicksburg and Baton Rouge. 1914 Serbia & Turkey sign peace treaty ending Second Balkan War. 1915 The British Navy sank the German battleship DKM Dresden off the Chilean coast. 1916 Battle of Verdun begins: Germans attack French on Mort-Homme ridge, West of Verdun. 1918 All-Russian Congress of Soviets ratified a peace treaty with the Central Powers. 1942 Atlantic:
*Amphibious Force Atlantic Fleet is established.
Unarmed U.S. collier Lemuel Burrows is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-404 off Atlantic City, New Jersey, 39°18'N, 74°16'W. Freighter Sewalls Point rescues one group of survivors; a boat from James Elwood Jones the other.
*Panamanian motorship Annetta I rescues the last survivor of unarmed U.S. tanker J.N. Pew, sunk by German submarine U-67 on 21 February; 33 of the 36-man crew are lost. 1943 Germans reoccupy Kharkov in the Soviet Union. 1943 Atlantic:
*Fleet Operational Training Command, Atlantic Fleet is established. 1943 Indian Ocean:
*Off Durban, South Africa, SAAF crash boat rescues 13 survivors of U.S. freighter James B. Stephens, torpedoed by German submarine U-160 on 8 March. 1944 Pacific:
*USAAF B-24 damages Japanese hospital ship Tachibana Maru, en route from Wewak to Palau, 02°14'S, 142°37'E.
*Japanese seaplane carrier Sanuki Maru is damaged by mine, 10°31'N, 105°04'E.
*Japanese cargo ship Fuki Maru is sunk, by stranding, off east coast of Honshu, near Fukushima, 37°29'N, 141°35'E. 1944 Air raid on Le Mans: Canadian aircrew from No.6 Group, RCAF, join two RAF bomber groups in destroying 800 freight cars and 15 locomotives at a railyard in Le Mans. The aircrew involved have been handed a safer job than flying into the heart of Germany, and casualty rates drop considerably in the squadrons involved in these short strikes across the Channel.1939 Nazi dissolve Czechoslovakia; Hungary & Poland rush to share the spoils 1945 Pacific:
*Destroyer USS Cotten and USS Dortch sink Japanese guardboats Futa Maru and No.17 Kaiko Maru off the Bonins, 30°58'N, 144°54'E.
*PVs (VPB 151) begin operating from Iwo Jim's Motoyama Airfield No.1, thus bringing Japanese guardboats operating off the home islands within range of rocket-firing planes.
*Submarine USS Bream sinks Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Keihin Maru, 05°41'S, 114°03'E.
*Submarine USS Rock lands supplies on Lombok Island N.E.I.
*Submarine USS Trepang sinks Japanese guardboat Kaiko Maru off Inubosaki, 35°40'N, 141°00'E.
*British submarine HMS Spirit sinks Japanese auxiliary sailing vessel Ryuho Maru off Massalambo Island 05°34'S, 114°26'E.
*USAAF B-24 on antishipping sweep off south China coast sinks Japanese army ship No.3 Taisei Maru, 03°35'N, 112°10'E.
*USAAF B-29s (274 strong) pound Osaka; Japanese merchant cargo ships Shiraume Maru and Shirogane Maru are sunk in the fire bomb raid that lays waste to the heart of the city and inflicts 13,000 casualties.
*USAAF B-24s damage Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Cha 235 off Mako, Pescadores.
*Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser Yatsushiro Maru is damaged by aircraft, south of Wenchow, China.
*Attacks against Japanese convoy KAI-311 continue, and USAAF B-24s and B-25s sink small cargo vessel No.15 Gokoku Maru off south China coast.
*USAAF B-24 sinks small Japanese cargo vessel No.3 Taisei Maru off Hong Kong.
*Navy aircraft sink small Japanese cargo vessel No.1 Taiki Maru and damage guardboat No.1 Shinya Maru, 27°10', 132°09'E.
*Coastal yacht Amethyst is damaged in collision with U.S. merchantman Platte Park 150 miles northwest of San Francisco. 1945 RAF bombs railway link at Hannover-Hamm. 1947 US signs 99-year lease on naval bases in the Philippines. 1951 UN forces recapture Seoul during the Korean War. 1953 Nikita Khrushchev succeeds Malenkov as secretary of the USSR. 1978 Israeli invasion of south Lebanon: A force of 22,000 hit the PLO bases. 1991 Emir of Kuwait back in Kuwait City: Sheik Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah returns after the Iraqis are expelled.
1590 - Battle of Ivry: Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeat the forces of the Catholic League under the Duc de Mayenne during the French Wars of Religion.
1360 France invasion force lands on English south coast, conquers Winchelsea. 1781 English defeat the Americans at Guilford Court House, SC. 1862 Gen John Hunt Morgan begins four days of raids near Gallatin, TN. 1864 Red River Campaign: Union forces reach Alexandria, LA. 1916 Fifth Battle of the Isonzo ends. (from Mar 5) 1916 Gen Pershing begins fruitless 10-month pursuit of Pancho Villa in Mexico. 1930 USS Nautilus is launched. 1939 Hitler occupies the remnants of Czchoslovakia. 1942 Japanese begin an intensive bombardment of forts guarding Manila Bay. 1942 Hawaii: NY's 27th Inf Div arrives, first division to arrive overseas in WW II. 1943 U.S. Navy forces in the Central Pacific are designated the Fifth Fleet. 1944 Abbey of Monte Cassino destroyed by Allied bombing. 1944 U.S. Army troops invade Manus island in the Admiralties. 1945 British secure Mandalay. 1957 Britain becomes the third nation to detonate a nuclear bomb. 1957 Airship ZPG-2 lands NAS Key West after 11 day non-stop flight across the Atlantic. 1969 Chinese-Russian border clash, hundreds die. 1978 Israel raids Lebanon to rid area of Palestine guerrillas.
44 BC - Julius Caesar, Dictator of the Roman Republic, is stabbed to death by Marcus Junius Brutus, Decimus Junius Brutus and several other Roman senators on the Ides of March.
1311 - Battle of Halmyros: The Catalan Company defeats Walter V of Brienne to take control of the Duchy of Athens, a Crusader state in Greece.
1943 - World War II: Third Battle of Kharkov - the Germans retook the city of Kharkov from the Soviet armies in bitter street fighting.
1990 - The Soviet Union announces that Lithuania's declaration of independence is invalid.
1991 - Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
__________________ All warfare is based on deception. Sun Tzu - Art of war - Chapter One - Laying Plans
1190 Crusades massacre Jews of York, England 1792 Atempted assasination of Swedish King Gustavus III (inspires Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera") 1802 U.S. Military Academy is established at West Point 1815 Willem I proclaimed King of the Netherlands, including Belgium 1861 Confederate government appoints a commissioners to Britain 1865 Battle of Averasboro, NC 1882 US Senate ratifies treaty establishing the International Red Cross 1922 Fuad I crowned king of Egypt 1926 Robert Goddard launches the first liquid fuel rocket, to 184 feet 1935 Hitler orders German rearmament, violating Versailles Treaty 1942 Resupply & evac at Corregidor: Submarine USS Permit delivers ammunition to Corregidor, and evacuates second increment of naval radio and communications intelligence people. 1942 Action in the Atlantic:
*Unarmed U.S. tanker Australia is torpedoed, shelled, and irreparably damaged by German submarine U-332 off Diamond Shoals, 35°07'N, 75°22'W. U.S. freighter William J. Salman rescues survivors and transfers them to yacht Ruby for further transportation to Southport, North Carolina. Australia, sunk in shallow water, is written off as a total loss and her wreck demolished on 20 March.
*British tanker San Demetrio is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-404 at 37°03'N, 73°50'W 1943 Action in the Pacific:
*Four U.S. destroyers shell Japanese positions at Vila.
Submarine USS Flying Fish sinks Japanese victualling stores ship Hyuga Maru west of the Marianas.
*Submarine S-32 damages Japanese submarine RO 103 off Silipuaka Island, 52°54'N, 173°13'E.
*Solomon Is: U.S. destroyers shell Vila. 1943 British command in the Mediterranean:
*Vice Admiral H. Kent Hewitt becomes Commander Naval Forces Northwest African Waters. 1943 Action in the Atlantic:
*SBDs (VC 29) from aircraft escort vessel USS Santee attack German submarine, 07°15'S, 29°15'W.
German submarine U-172, stalking convoy UGS 6, torpedoes U.S. freighter Benjamin Harrison at 39°09'N, 24°15'W. Precipitately abandoned, the ship is scuttled by gunfire of destroyer USS Rowanwhich rescues three survivors. Freighter Alan A. Dale rescues the remainder.
German submarines attack convoy HX 229 as it proceeds toward the British Isles; U-758 torpedoes U.S. freighter James Oglethorpe at 50°00'N, 36°00'W; 13 merchant seamen, 15 Armed Guard sailors and two passengers are rescued by British corvette HMS Pennywort. U-435 torpedoes freighter William Eustis at 49°57'N, 37°06'W; British destroyer HMS Volunteer rescues the entire crew (which includes a 30-man Armed Guard). Both "Liberties" remain afloat 1944 Sub USS Tautog torpedoes Japanese destroyer IJN Shirakumo east of Hokkaido 1945 Iwo Jima: organized Japanese resistance ends, mopping up continues. 1966 Gemini 8 launched with Armstrong & Scott, aborted after 6.5 orbits 1968 My Lai Massacre, perhaps 450 die 1985 Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson taken hostage in Beirut
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