| October 31
1861 - American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
1863 - The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
1917 - World War I: Battle of Beersheba - "last successful cavalry charge in history"
1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain ends - The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.
1941: In the north Atlantic, the US destroyer Reuben James escorting Convoy HX-156 is sunk by U-552 (Kapitänleutnant Erich Topp) with the loss of 100 of her crew. The destroyer is the first US naval casualty in the hitherto undeclared war between Germany and the United States that existed after President Roosevelt authorized the use of American naval vessels to escort Lend-Lease convoys bound for Britain.
1944: On the orders of Prime Minister Churchill, British troops occupy Saloniki in Greece to assist the new government in its efforts to prevent a takeover by Communist insurgents in the wake of the recent withdrawal of German troops from the country.
__________________ "It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle." - Norman Schwarskopf, Commander of Desert Storm Operations  |