May 28th

1940: In the West, the Belgian Army surrenders, King Leopold being taken prisoner. In Norway, French mountain troops capture the port of Narvik, forcing the German defenders into the surrounding hills.
1941: On Crete, British and Commonwealth fores begin evacuating the island which by now is practically in German hands.
1943: In Italy, the US 15th Air Force attacks oil refineries at Livorno.
1944: The US 8th Air Force attacks synthetic fuel-producing plants at Leuna-Meseburg.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/may.html

1940: French mountain troops capture the port of Narvik, forcing the German defenders (Gebirgsjäger units and crews of sunk destroyers) into the surrounding hills and towards the safety of the Swedish border and internment.
1941: British and Commonwealth forces begin evacuating Crete through the port of Sphakia on the southern coast of Crete.
1942: The Russian pocket Southeast of Kharkov continues to be broken in. 200 Poles are taken from Warsaw to the village of Magdalenka and shot. Among them are three women brought on stretchers from Pawiak prison hospital. Heavy fighting continues at the southern end of the Gazala line, although by now Rommel's forces are beginning to run out of fuel and his tanks are becoming scattered.
1943: The U.S. 15th Air Force attacks Italian oil refineries at Livorno.
1944: The US 8th Air Force attacks synthetic fuel-producing plants at Leuna-Meseburg.
1945: The British Twelfth Army HQ is set up in Rangoon.
source: http://www.worldwar-2.net/

1902: Boers surrender, ending the Boer War. Over 16,000 Australians served in South Africa, 251 were killed in action and 267 died from disease and 43 were reported missing.
1968: This second assault on Fire Support Base Balmoral, Vietnam, was more easily defeated than the first with the North Vietnamese driven off after 30 minutes.
1968: Award of United States Presidential Unit Citation to D Company, 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, for the Battle of Long Tan.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/may.htm

1813: General John Vincent ends his retreat to Burlington Heights after losing Fort George; Americans now control Niagara Peninsula.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=May&day=28

1813 - Frigate Essex and prize capture five British whalers
1917 - First underway fueling in U.S. Navy, USS Maumee fuels 6 destroyers in North Atlantic. LCDR Chester W. Nimitz served as Maumee's executive officer and chief engineer.
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesmay.htm

1754: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under 22-year-old Lieutenant Colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
1863: The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first African American regiment, leaves Boston, Massachusetts, to fight for the Union.
1905: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the RussianBaltic Fleet by AdmiralTogo Heihachiro and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
1982: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_28

1918 : U.S. troops score victory at Cantigny - In the first sustained American offensive of World War I, an Allied force including a full brigade of nearly 4,000 United States soldiers captures the village of Cantigny, on the Somme River in France, from their German enemy. A day after their French allies suffered a blistering defeat on the Aisne River, a two-hour artillery barrage preceded the attack on Cantigny, located further north on the Western Front. The French army provided air cover, artillery, heavy tanks and—in an especially effective tactic—teams of flamethrowers to aid the U.S. advance through the German-held village, which was quickly overrun. The Americans took 100 German prisoners by the end of that day. The commander in chief of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), General John J. Pershing, gave the order that no inch of Cantigny was to be surrendered. Over the next 72 hours, the Americans in Cantigny endured seven German counterattacks, maintaining control of the village despite high casualties, with 200 soldiers killed and another 200 incapacitated by German gas attacks. By the time relief finally came, total U.S. casualties at Cantigny had reached over 1,000, and the soldiers were exhausted from the strain of continual shelling. As the first major U.S. victory, the capture of Cantigny had a threefold impact on the war effort in the spring of 1918: first, it deprived the Germans of an important observation point for their troops on the Western Front. It also lent weight to Pershing’s argument that an independent U.S. command should be maintained apart from the joint Allied command. Finally, it provided a warning to the Germans that the Americans, although recently arrived and relatively new to the battlefield, were not a force to be taken lightly.
source: http://www.history.com/tdih.do?

1859: The French army launches a flanking attack on the Austrian army in Northern France.
source: http://www.historynet.com/tdih0528.htm

1291: Crusader rule in the Holy Land came to an end as the Mamluks took the city of Acre, the last stronghold of the kingdom of Jerusalem.
source: http://www.britannica.com/eb/dailyco...go_button.y=13

May 29th

1940: In the West, the German 6.Armee occupies Lille, Ypres and Ostend. Off the beaches at Dunkirk, the British Navy loses 5 destroyers and 15 other vessels to Luftwaffe Stuka attacks.
1941: While evacuating British troops from Crete, the British destroyers Imperial and Hereward are sunk by the Luftwaffe.
1943: The RAF launches a major raid (719 bombers) against Wuppertal, dropping 1,900 tons of bombs and killing 2,450 civilians.
1944: In the Atlantic, the US escort carrier Block Island is sunk by U-549. Using its maximum range, the US 8th Air Force attacks aircraft production plants at Marienburg and Posen in eastern Germany.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/may.html

1167 - Battle of Monte Porzio - A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel
1176 - Battle of Legnano, in which the Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I.
1453 - Byzantine-Ottoman Wars: Ottoman armies under SultanMehmed IIFatih capture Constantinople after a siege, ending the Byzantine Empire.
1592 - At the Battle of Sacheon, the Korean navy led by Admiral Yi Sun Shin, repels a Japanese army that outnumbers it nearly 3 to 1.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_29

1812: James Yeo raids Isaac Chauncey's naval base at Sackett's Harbour with Roger Sheaffe; forced to withdraw by Brigadier Jacob Brown; new Commodore of Provincial Marine based in Kingston.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=May&day=29

1780: the surrender of Charleston on May 12, the 3rd Virginia, was virtually the only organized Patriot formation remaining in South Carolina; British Colonel Banastre Tarleton had been given the mission to destroy any colonial resistance in the state. At Waxhaws on the North Carolina border, a cavalry charge by Tarleton’s men broke the 350 remaining Patriots under Buford. Tarleton and his Tories proceeded to shoot at the Patriots after their surrender, a move that spawned the term “Tarleton’s Quarter,” which in the eyes of the Patriots meant a brutal death at the hands of a cowardly foe. The Continentals lost 113 killed and 203 captured in the Battle of Waxhaws; British losses totaled 19 men and 31 horses killed or wounded. Although they were routed, the loss became a propaganda victory for the Continentals: wavering Carolina civilians terrified of Tarleton and their Loyalist neighbors were now prepared to rally to the Patriot cause.
source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?

1915:Quinn's PostTurkish attack on Quinn's Post, Gallipoli.
1941: HMAS Perth damagedHMAS Perth was damaged during the evacuation of Allied troops from Crete. Over 16,000 troops were successfully evacuated from the island over four successive nights.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/may.asp

1781 - Frigate Alliance captures HMS Atalanta and Trepassy off Nova Scotia
1991 - Amphibious Task Force in Bangladesh for cyclone relief redeployed
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesmay.htm

1916: U.S. forces invade the Dominican Republic.
1942: The German Army completes its encirclement of the Kharkov region of the Soviet Union.
source: http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history

1905: The Russian navy was defeated in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War.
source: http://www.britannica.com/eb/dailycontent?month=5&day=29&go_button.x=10&go_butt on.y=8

May 30th

1941: Collapse of the anti-British revolt in Iraq.
1942: The RAF launches its first "Thousand Bomber Raid" against Cologne: 1,046 heavy bombers drop 1,455 tons of bombs, destroying 600 acres of built-up area, killing 486 civilians and making 59,000 people homeless.
1944: German forces of Heeresgruppe Südukraine begin a counter-attack near Jassy on the lower Dnestr river.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/may.html

1434 - Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great were defeated and almost annihilated in the Battle of Lipany, effectively ending the Hussite Wars.
1913 - First Balkan War: A peace treaty is signed in London ending the war. Albania becomes an independent nation.
1941 - World War II: Germany captures Crete.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_30

1862: Confederates evacuate Corinth, Mississippi - After the epic struggle at Shiloh in April 1862, the Confederate army, under the command of P.T. Beauregard, concentrated at Corinth, while the Union army, under Henry Halleck, began a slow advance from the Shiloh battlefield toward the rail center at Corinth. Halleck had no intention of taking on Beauregard's army directly; he was more concerned with controlling the railroad junction.
1966: U.S. aircraft carry out new raids -In the largest raids since air attacks on North Vietnam began in February 1965, U.S. planes destroy five bridges, 17 railroad cars, and 20 buildings in the Thanh Hoa and Vinh areas (100 and 200 miles south of Hanoi, respectively). Others planes hit Highway 12 in four places north of the Mugia Pass and inflicted heavy damage on the Yen Bay arsenal and munitions storage area, which was located 75 miles northeast of Hanoi.
source: http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?

1940: Mussolini tells Hitler he intends to enter the war. 53,823 British and French troops are evacuated from Dunkirk, bringing total landed in England since May 27th to 126,606.
1942: Admiral Nimitz orders for Task Force 17 (Admiral Fletcher) consisting of the carrier Yorktown, 2 cruisers and 6 destroyers, which had been refitting at Pearl Harbor after operations in the Coral Sea, to set sail for Midway and meet Admiral Spruance there. The Afrika Korps take up defensive positions in the 'Cauldron' in readiness for their attempt to punch through the Gazala line.
1944: The Eighth Army captures Arce, 15 miles Northwest of Cassino, en route to Rome.
source: http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/timelines-index.htm

1859: The Piedmontese army crosses the Sesia River and defeats the Austrians at Palestro.
1912: U.S. Marines are sent to Nicaragua to protect American interests.
1942: The Royal Air Force launches the first 1,000 plane raid over Germany.
source: http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history

1814 - Navy gunboats capture three British boats on Lake Ontario near Sandy Creek, NY
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesmay.htm

1942: RAAF participates in first 1,000-bomber raid First 1,000-bomber raid launched by the RAF. The target was Cologne, Germany. To make up the numbers crews were taken from operational training units to participate in the raid.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/may.asp

May 31st

1940: The evacuation of the BEF from Dunkirk continues under heavy Luftwaffe attacks that sink two French destroyers; 68,000 men have been rescued thus far.
1942: Sine the start of Operation Paukenschlag (Drum Beat) in January, German U-boats operating along the US eastern seaboard have sunk 111 vessels. The RAF launches another 1,000-bomber raid against Essen, but with minimal results. In Libya, the attack by the Afrikakorps against the British Gazala line is still stalled at Bir Hacheim.
1943: By the end of the month, 41 U-boats have been sunk in the Atlantic due to greatly improved Allied anti-submarine techniques and tactics (Hedgehog, greater-range patrol aircraft, better radar, more escort vessels and carriers, plus the advantage of having broken the German Navy Enigma code). "Black May" effectively marks the end of a sustained German U-boat campaign in WWII which did come very close to starving out Britain and forcing her to make terms with Germany. In Italy, the US 15th Air Force bombs Axis airfields at Foggia, destroying many aircraft on the ground.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/may.html

1918: Monash Commands the Australian Corps - Lieutenant General Monash succeeds Birdwood as General Officer Commanding the Australian Corps.
1942: Japanese midget submarines raid Sydney Harbour - Of the three Japanese submarines that attacked Sydney Harbour, two were destroyed or disabled during the raid; the third disappeared and was located off Sydney's northern beaches by a group of amateur divers in November 2006. Little material damage was caused by the attack, but 21 sailors were killed when the depot ship HMAS Kuttabul was torpedoed.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/may.asp

1223 - Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.
1862: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) - Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G. W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
1864: Battle of Cold Harbor - The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade.
1902 - Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Jutland - The British Grand Fleet under the command of Sir John Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_31

1900 - Sailors and Marines from USS Newark and USS Oregon arrive at Peking, China with other Sailors and Marines from Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan to protect U.S. and foreign diplomatic legations from the Boxers
1919 - NC-4's transatlantic mission ends at Plymouth, England
1944 - USS England sank a record 6th Japanese submarine in 13 days.
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesmay.htm

1915: A German zeppelin makes an air raid on London.
source: http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history

1941: The last of the Allies evacuate after 11 days of battling a successful German parachute invasion of the island of Crete. Crete is now Axis-occupied territory. On the morning of May 20, some 3,000 members of Germany's Division landed on Crete, which was patrolled and protected by more than 28,000 Allied troops and an almost equal number of Greek soldiers. The German invasion, although anticipated, was not taken seriously; the real fear was of an attack from the sea. Those initial 3,000 parachutists were reinforced-to the tune of an additional 19,000 men, arriving by parachute drop, glider, and troop carrier. The Allies remained optimistic; many of the German soldiers who dropped from the sky died or were injured on impact. The rest were undersupplied and inexperienced. But by the May 26, British General Bernard Freyberg, commander of the defense of Crete, already reported that their position was hopeless. Evacuation of Allied troops began on the 28th. By the night of the 31st, the last of the Allies that would make it out had left the seaport of Sphakia; 5,000 men would be left behind in the hands of the Germans. The total loss of Allied land soldiers in the Cretan engagements was 1,742; a further 2,265 sailors were lost at sea. Three cruisers and six destroyers had been sunk. The Germans suffered a loss of about 4,000 men.
source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-h...rticle&id=6470

June 1st

1940: In the West, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk continues, with another 64,400 men taken off the beaches. The British destroyers Keith, Basilisk and Havant and the transport Scotia are sunk by Luftwaffe dive bombers.
1941: The last British troops (15,000) are evacuated from the island of Crete which is now completely in German hands. The Luftwaffe carries out a night raid (110 bombers) on Manchester. In the Mediterranean, Stukas sink the British cruiser Calcutta off Alexandria.
1942: The RAF launches another 1,000-bomber night raid against Essen in the Ruhr, but with minimal effect. In the East, the siege of the Crimean fortress of Sevastopol by 11.Armee (von Manstein) continues with a round-the-clock bombardment by heavy artillery and Luftwaffe bombers. Mexico declares war on Germany, Italy and Japan.
1943: BdU (C-in-C U-boats) adopts a new policy of fighting back at Allied sub-hunting aircraft with the U-boats' own AA guns while crossing the Bay of Biscay on the surface; this tactic proves to be largely unsuccesful and is soon abandoned. In the East, the Red Air Force attacks German rear communications and airfields at Smolensk, Orel and Bryansk.
1944: In the West, Allied air forces continue to carry out heavy attacks against strategic bridges and rail lines in France. In Italy, the British Eighth Army (Alexander) captures Frosinone SE of Rome.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/june.html

1215 - Beijing, then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Beijing.
1918: Battle for Belleau Wood - Allied Forces under John J. Pershing & James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1

1813 - HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake, Capt. James Lawrence. As the mortally wounded Captain Lawrence was carried below, he ordered "Tell the men to fire faster! Don't give up the ship!" These words would live on in naval history. Oliver Hazard Perry honored his dead friend Lawrence when he had the motto sewn onto the private battle flag flown during the Battle of Lake Erie, 10 September 1813.
1871 - RADM Rodgers lands in Korea with a party of Sailors and Marines and captures 5 forts to secure protection for U.S. citizens after Americans were fired upon and murdered.
1914 - General Order 99 prohibits alcohol on board naval vessels, or at navy yards or stations
1915 - First contract for lighter-than-air craft for Navy
1939 - Director of the Naval Research Laboratory, Captain Hollis M. Cooley, proposes research in atomic energy for future use in nuclear powered submarine
1944 - ZP-14 Airships complete first crossing of Atlantic by non-rigid lighter-than-air aircraft
1954 - First test of steam catapult from USS Hancock
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjun.htm

1918: RAN aircraft first used in combat - First use of aircraft in combat by ships of the Royal Australian Navy in the Heligoland Bight. Aircraft were launched from HMAS Sydney and HMAS Melbourne to intercept two German aircraft.
1941: Evacuation from Crete completed - Over 16,000 troops were successfully evacuated from the island over four successive nights.source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/jun.asp

1864: The Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, begins as Confederate general Robert E. Lee tries to turn Union general Ulysses S. Grant’s flank.
1877: U.S. troops are authorized to pursue bandits into Mexico.
source: http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history

The 6th June 1944...........D. Day. While reading these forums just spare a thought to ALL those brave men that gave their all in the name of Freedom

June 2nd

1940: At Dunkirk, 26,200 British and French troops are evacuated from the beaches. The Luftwaffe carries out raids on Lyon and targets in the Rhone valley.
1941: Hitler and Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass on the German-Italian border to discuss the progress of the war.
1944: First shuttle raid (Operation Frantic) by 130 B-17s of the US 15th Air Force based at Tripoli that attack rail yards at Debrecen< Hungary, and then fly on to Soviet airfields at Poltava in the Ukraine. Beginning of secret negotiations between the Rumanian government of Marshal Antonescu and representatives of the Soviet Union at Stockholm, Sweden, while the Bulgarian government seeks terms of surrender from the Western Allies.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/june.html

1941 - First aircraft escort vessel, USS Long Island (ACG-1), commissioned, then reclassified as an auxiliary aircraft carrier (AVC-1) on 20 August and finally reclassified as an escort carrier (CVE-1) in July 1943.
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjun.htm

1967: 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, arrives in Vietnam - By 1967 Australia's commitment to the war in Vietnam was increasing as the task force expanded its control over areas of Phuc Tuy Province.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/jun.asp

1917: Germany - William Avery 'Billy' Bishop seriously damages a German aerodrome and airfield and destroys three German planes far behind enemy lines, an action that wins him the Victoria Cross; most successful Canadian airman in the Royal Flying Corps, with 72 kills.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jun&day=02

1098 - First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city. The second siege would later start on June 7.
1984 - Operation Bluestar, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for the Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6 with causalities, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
1995 - United States Air ForceCaptainScott O'Grady's F-16 is shot down over Bosnia while patrolling the NATO no-fly zone.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2

1818: British army defeats the Maratha alliance in Bombay, India.
1865: At Galveston, Texas, Confederate general Edmund Kirby Smith surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Department to Union forces.
1942: The American aircraft carriers Enterprise, Hornet and Yorktown move into their battle positions for the Battle of Midway.
source: http://www.historynet.com/today_in_history?tihMonth=6&tihDay=2&tdih=GO

June 3rd

1940: In Norway, British and French forces (24,000 men) abandon Narvik, while the last Allied troops are evacuated from Dunkirk (in all, 218,226 British and 120,000 French).
1944: In Italy, German forces withdraw from Rome which has been declared an 'open city'.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/june.html

1785 - Order to sell last ship remaining in Continental Navy, frigate Alliance. No other Navy were ships authorized until 1794.
1898 - Collier Merrimac sunk in channel leading to Santiago, Cuba in unsuccessful attempt to trap Spanish fleet. The crew was captured and later received the Medal of Honor.
1949 - Wesley A. Brown becomes the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.
1966 - Launch of Gemini 9, piloted by LCDR Eugene A. Cernan, USN. The mission included 45 orbits over 3 days. Recovery was by USS Wasp (CVS-1.
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjun.htm

1942: Battle of Midway begins - The battle of Midway was the first decisive defeat inflicted on Japan by America in the Second World War. The battle shifted the balance of sea power in the Pacific towards the Allies and forced Japan to abandon plans for advances on New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa and delayed their offensive in New Guinea.
1944: Last major air combat by RAAF in the Second World War - South of Biak Isand 15 P-40Ns from 78 Squadron attacked 15 Japanese aircraft comprising 12 fighters and three dive bombers and succeeded in shooting down seven fighters and all of the dive bombers for the loss of one P-40 and pilot.source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/jun.asp

1940: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris. The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
1969 - Melbourne-Evans collision: Off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_3

1098: Christian Crusaders of the First Crusade seize Antioch, Turkey
1861: Union troops defeat Confederate forces at Philippi, in western Virginia
1864: Some 7,000 Union troops are killed within 30 minutes during the Battle of Cold Harbor in Virginia.
1942: Japanese carrier-based planes strafe Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands as a diversion of the attack on Midway Island.
source: http://www.historynet.com/tdih0603.htm

June 4th

1940: German troops enter Dunkirk, taking 40,000 French prisoners and huge quantities of abandoned British equipment: 84,000 vehicles, 2,500 guns and 650,000 tons of supplies and ammunition. French bombers carry out night raids on Munich and Frankfurt, with negligible results.
1941: Luftwaffe bombers carry out a night raid on the port of Alexandria in Egypt.
1942: Hitler flies to Finland to meet with the Finnish head of state, Marshal Mannerheim.
1943: In the East, Luftwaffe bombers attack the great tank-producing plants at Gorki.
1944: The US Fifth Army (Clark) enters Rome. U-505, patroling off Cape Blanco on the West African coast is forced to the surface by depth-charges from the US destroyer escort Chatelain, captured intact and towed to Bermuda by the escort carrier Guadalcanal.
SOURCE: http://www.feldgrau.com/june.html

1934 - USS Ranger, first ship designed from the keel up as a carrier, is commissioned at Norfolk, VA
1942 - Battle of Midway (4-6 June) begins; during battle, the 4 Japanese carriers which attacked Pearl Harbor are sunk; this decisive U.S. victory is a turning point in the Pacific war
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjun.htm

1900: Six Mile Spruit - Victorians and West Australians heavily engaged at Six Mile Spruit.
1944: Allied troops enter Rome - The Italian campaign, aimed at exploiting the Allied victory in North Africa and distract German forces from France and the Eastern Front, became a lengthy war of attrition that was not brought to an end with the fall of Rome.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/jun.asp

1742: Quebec Quebec - Le Canada launched; first French warship built in Canada sails for Rochefort, France.
1940: France - RAF's 242 'Canadian' Squadron posted to France. Dunkirk France - Dunkirk evacuation completed; Canadians recross Channel with only six men missing.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jun&day=04

1615: The fortress at Osaka, Japan, falls to Shogun Leyasu after a six-month siege.
1794: British troops capture Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
1859: The French army, under Napoleon III, takes Magenta from the Austrian army.
1918: French and American troops halt Germany’s offensive at Chateau-Thierry, France.
source: http://www.historynet.com/tdih0604.htm

June 5th

1940: Beginning of Fall Rot (Operation Red), the second stage of the German invasion of France, also called the Battle of France (119 divisions, including 10 armored). Heeresgruppe B (von Küchler), with 50 divisions, opens the offensive on the Somme against the fortified positions of the Weygand Line. Hptm. Mölders, leader of III/JG 53 and Germany's top air ace (25 kills) is shot down near Compiegne and taken prisoner.
1942: The United States declares war on Rumania, Hungary and Bulgaria.
1943: U-513 (Kptlt.. Sohler) sinks 4 ships off the coast of Brazil. 1944: Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France, is postponed for one day because of rough seas in the English Channel. The RAF carries out heavy night raids against German coastal batteries and fortifications in Normandy.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/june.html

1813: Stoney Creek Ontario - John Harvey makes surprise attack with 700 British regulars of the 8th and 49th Regiments and some Canadian militia against 2,000 strong American force under Brigadiers William Winder and John Chandler at Stoney Creek; Americans withdraw toward Forty Mile Creek after midnight; War of 1812.
1944: Normandy France - D-DAY-1; Soldiers of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, part of British 6th Airborne Division's 3rd brigade make advance overnight landing before D-Day; "C" company lands in the most easterly drop-zone near Varville, blows up a bridge across the Divette River, destroying a German strong-point and then moves back four miles to the village of le Mesnil.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jun&day=05

1941: Cyprus reinforced by Australian troops - After their heavy losses during the invasion of Crete German plans to launch a similar attack against Cyprus were abandoned.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/jun.asp

1794 - First officers of the U.S. Navy under the Constitution are appointed. The first 6 captains appointed to superintend the construction of new ships were John Barry, Samuel Nicholson, Silas Talbot, Joshua Barney, Richard Dale, and Thomas Truxtun
1917 - First military unit sent to France, First Naval Aeronautical Detachment, reaches France on board USS Jupiter
1945 - Typhoon off Okinawa damages many U.S. Navy ships
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesjun.htm

1967: War erupted in the Middle East as Israel raided Egyptian military targets. Syria, Jordan and Iraq entered the conflict.
source: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20080605.html