tomtom22

July 4th

1940: In direct response to the devastating British attack on the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir, the Vichy French government of Marshal Petain breaks off diplomatic relations with Britain. In the House of Commons, prime minister Churchill declares,'I leave the judgment of our actions with confidence to Parliament. I leave it to the nation and I leave it to the United States [?!]. I leave it to the world and to history.' German Stukas and MTBs attack a British convoy S of Portland, sinking 5 merchant ships. Italian bombers raid Malta and Alexandria.
1941: Units of Heeresgruppe Mitte (von Bock) capture Ostrov s of Pskovsk.
1942: Off the northern coast of Norway, German U-boats and Luftwaffe torpedo planes attack Convoy PQ-17 bound for Murmansk. Over a period of 6 days, they sink 24 ships out of a total of 37. In the East, the German 11.Armee (von Manstein) completes the occupation of the Crimea, taking 97,000 Soviet prisoners. For the first time, 6 B-17s of the US 8th Air Force join an RAF bomber formation in raids on German airfields in Holland.
1943: General Sikorski, leader of the London-based anti-Communist Polish government-in-exile, is killed in a plane crash at Gibraltar, some suspect as the result of deliberate sabotage.
1944: In the East, the Soviet 1st Baltic Front begins an offensive toward Riga, capturing Potolsk and threatening to isolate Heeresgruppe Nord in its fighting retreat from iEstonia.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/july.html

1776 - American colonies declare their independence from Great Britain
1777 - John Paul Jones hoists first Stars and Stripes flag on Ranger at Portsmouth, NH.
1801 - First Presidential Review of U.S. Marine Band and Marines at the White House.
1842 - First test of electrically operated underwater torpedo sinks gunboat Boxer
1863 - Confederates surrender of Vicksburg, MS, gives Union control of Mississippi River.
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjul.htm

1944: Carpiquet France - Canadians take village of Carpiquet and part of airfield; Keller's 8th Brigade: North Shores, Queen's Own, and le Régiment de la Chaudière, with the 7th Brigade's Winnipeg Rifles under command; supported by the 10th Canadian Armoured Regiment (Fort Garry Horse) and the Assault Vehicles, Royal Engineers of the 79th British Armoured Division; the Canadians have 428 field guns, backed by naval fire including the 9 16-inch guns of the battleship Rodney and the 15-inch guns of the monitor Roberts; take 117 dead and 260 wounded; position held for five days until Caen is taken in Operation Charnwood.
1945: Berlin Germany - Canadian troops enter Berlin as part of British garrison force; to share occupation duties.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jul&day=04

1918: Battle of Hamel, France - The Battle of Hamel was the first set-piece operation planned and conducted under Lieutenant General Sir John Monash. It came to be regarded as a model for later Western Front battles.
1918: Lance Corporal T.L. Axford, VC - Lance Corporal T.L. Axford, 16th Battalion, originally from Carrieton, South Australia, wins the Victoria Cross at Vaire and Hamel Woods, France.1918: Private H. Dalziel, VC - Private H. Dalziel, 15th Battalion, originally from Irvinebank, Queensland, wins the Victoria Cross at Hamel Wood, France.1941: Acting Wing Commander H. Edwards, VC - Acting Wing Commander H. Edwards, No. 105 Squadron, Bomber Command, RAAF, originally from Fremantle, Western Australia, wins the Victoria Cross in a raid on Bremen.source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/jul.asp

1861: Union and Confederate forces skirmish at Harpers Ferry.
1863: The Confederate town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant.
1946: The United States grants the Philippine Islands their independence.
source: http://www.historynet.com/tdih0704.htm

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"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