tomtom22

July 5th

1940: In retaliation for the British action at Mers-el-Kebir, Vichy French warships based at Dakar capture 3 British merchant ships, while French aircraft stationed in Morocco attack British shipping off Gibraltar. The British destroyer Whirlwind is sunk by U-34 (Kptlt. Rollmann) SW of Ireland. The RAF carries out night raids on Kiel and Wilhelmshaven.
1941: In the East, units of 6.Armee (von Reichenau) break through the Stalin Line E of Lvov, while Panzergruppe 1 (von Kleist) continues its advance toward Zhitomir and Berdichev in the Ukraine. The RAF carries out night raids on M=FCnster and Bielefeld.
1942: Armored units of 4.Panzerarmee (Hoth) reach the Don at Voronesh.
1943: Beginning of Unternehmen Zitadelle (Operation Citadel), the massive counter-offensive by Heeresgruppe Mitte to eliminate the Soviet salient between Orel and Belgorod near Kursk. On a 200-mile front, 37 divisions totaling 900,000 men of 9.Armee (Model) attacking from the north, and 4.Panzerarmee (Hoth) attacking from the south, including 11 Panzer divisions with 2,500 tanks and assault guns, 10,000 guns and Nebelwerfer (rocket guns), as well as 1,800 aircraft go into action against 1,300,000 Soviet troops in deeply echeloned defensive positions and 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; the greatest tank and air battles of WWII will be fought here. -- In the northern sector, the Germans advance 6, in the southern, some 25 miles against stubborn Soviet resistance inflicting heavy casualties in tanks and infantry.
1944: German mini-U-boats begin operations off the Normandy coast, sinking 4 small Allied warships and damaging the British cruiser Dragon.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/july.html

1813: Plattsburgh New York - British begin three weeks of raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York; War of 1812 raids.
1814: Chippewa Ontario - Major General Jacob Brown defeats Gen. Phineas Riall and 1,800 British at Street's Creek (Chippewa); British retreat back toward Burlington, destroying Chippewa Bridge to prevent pursuit; 148 British dead, 48 Americans; with Winfield Scott.
1950: Esquimalt BC - Royal Canadian Navy destroyers HMCS Cayuga, Athabaskan, and Sioux leave Esquimalt for Pearl Harbor escorted by cruiser Ontario; to come under UN control during Korean War.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jul&day=05

1814 - Sloop-of-war Peacock captures British Stranger, Venus, Adiona, and Fortitude.
1815 - Commodore Stephen Decatur's squadron arrives at Tripoli to collect reparations for seizure of American merchant ships in violation of Treaty of 1805.
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjul.htm

1943: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
1945: Liberation of the Philippines declared.
1950: Task Force Smith - First clash between American and North Korean forces.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_5

1861: Battle of Carthage, Missouri - the first large-scale engagement of the Civil War is fought in southwestern Missouri, signaling an escalation in the hostilities between the North and South. After the clash at Fort Sumter in April, the state was deeply divided. The Missouri State Guardsmen, a force of 6,000 men commanded by Confederate Governor Claiborne Jackson and Colonel Sterling Price, were poorly equipped and outfitted mostly in civilian clothing. Their Union counterpart was a force of 1,100, mostly German-Americans from St. Louis, commanded by General Franz Sigel. Sigel's force occupied Springfield in late June, and then collided with the Confederates at nearby Carthage on July 5. Outnumbered, Sigel eventually withdrew, but was able to hold off several small attacks. By nightfall, the Union troops had retreated through Carthage and escaped a dangerous trap. Both sides declared victory, and losses were light: 13 Union men were killed and 31 were wounded, while 40 Confederates were killed and 120 were wounded. The forces remained in the area of Springfield, gathering strength over the next month. They would fight again in August at Wilson's Creek, Missouri.
source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=2235

__________________
"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