This day in military history..

Mar 21
717 Battle of Vincy
1801 Battle of Alexandria
1814 Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube
1865 Battle of Bentonville ends
1918 Operation Michael, the German Spring Offensive, begins
1945 British liberate Mandalay
1968 Battle of Karameh
 
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Mar 22
1849 Battle of Novara
1862 Valley Campaign: Battle of Kernstown begins
1865 Wilson's Alabama Campaign begins. Gen. Wilson has the most powerfull Cavalry force of the war, 10,000 armed with Spencer repeating carbines.
1939 Germany takes Memel from Lithuania
1942 2nd naval Battle of Sirte
 
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Mar 23
1821 Greek War of Independance: Greeks liberate Kalamata from the Turks
1862 Battle of Kernstown
1863 USS Hartford & Albatross bombard CS batteries @ Warrenton, Miss.
1879 War of the Pacific: Battle of Topater
1942 Japanese capture the Andaman Islands
 
March 23rd

1945: The Red Army reaches the outskirts of Danzig and Gotenhafen. The RAF launches a devastating raid (300 bombers) against Hildesheim near Hannover, a small city of little military and industrial importance.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/march.html

1815 - USS Hornet captures HMS Penguin in battle lasting 22 minutes
1882 - SECNAV Hunt issues General Order No. 292 creating Office of Naval Intelligence.
1917 - Launching of USS New Mexico, first dreadnought with turboelectric drive
1945 - Carriers begin pre-assault strikes on Okinawa, kamikaze attacks follow
1958 - First launching of simulated Polaris missile from submerged tactical launcher facility off CA.
1965 - LCDR John W. Young, USN, Pilot of Gemini 3 completed 3 orbits in 4 hours., 53 minutes at an altitude of 224 km. Recovery was by helicopters from USS Intrepid (CVS-11).
source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesmar.htm

1945: Waitavolo and Tol plantations captured by Australians, New Britain - In 1942 the Tol plantation was the scene of the massacre of some 150 Australians as they attempted to flee Rabaul. The capture of the plantations in 1945 enabled the Australian 5th Division to establish a line across the Gazelle Peninsula from which they were able to conduct patrols against Japanese positions in the North of New Britain.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/index.asp

1862: Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson suffers a rare defeat when his attack on Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley fails. Jackson was trying to prevent Union General Nathaniel Banks from sending troops from the Shenandoah to General George McClellan's army near Washington. McClellan was preparing to send his massive army by water to the James Peninsular southeast of Richmond for a summer campaign against the Confederate capital. When Turner Ashby, Jackson's cavalry commander, detected that Yankee troops were moving out of the valley, Jackson decided to attack and keep the Union troops divided.
1918: At 7:20 in the morning on March 23, 1918, an explosion in the Place de la Republique in Paris announces the first attack of a new German gun. The Pariskanone, or Paris gun, as it came to be known, was manufactured by Krupps; it was 210mm, with a 118-foot-long barrel, which could fire a shell the impressive distance of some 130,000 feet, or 25 miles, into the air. Three of them fired on Paris that day from a gun site at CrÉpy-en-Laonnaise, 74 miles away.
1961: One of the first American casualties in Southeast Asia, an intelligence-gathering plane en route from Laos to Saigon is shot down over the Plain of Jars in central Laos. The mission was flown in an attempt to determine the extent of the Soviet support being provided to the communist Pathet Lao guerrillas in Laos. The guerrillas had been waging a war against the Royal Lao government since 1959. In a television news conference, President John F. Kennedy warned of communist expansion in Laos and said that a cease-fire must precede the start of negotiations to establish a neutral and independent nation.
source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?


1945: Germany - Allies cross Rhine north of the Ruhr.
source: http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Mar&day=23
 
Good to see you posting here again TomTom! :)
Mar 24
1401 Mongols sack Damascus
1862 Valley Campaign: Union troops are diverted from the upcoming Peninsula Campaign to increase the Washington defences. Siege of Ft. Macon, N.C. by Union troops begins
1863 Vicksburg Campaign: Attempt to bypass Vicksburg by using Black Bayou stopped by CS defences.
1878 Frigate HMS Eurydice sinks in storm with loss of 319 of the 321 aboard
1927 Nanjing Incident: Foriegn warships shell Nanjing
1944 "The Great Escape" 78 POWs escape from Luft Stalag III
1999 Kosovo War: NATO begins bombing Yugoslavia
 
Mar 25
1821 Greek War of Independance starts
1863 US Navy Rams USS Lancaster & Switzerland are attacked by CS field artillery while withdrawing from Black Bayou. Lancaster is destroyed & Switzerland damaged
1865 Battle of Ft. Stedman, Va. Army of Northern Virginia's last attempt @ an offensive.
1941 Yugoslavia joins the axis
1958 1st flight AVRO Canada Arrow

Mar 26
1862 Battle of Apache Canyon, New Mexico Territory. Conferates block Union troops.
1913 Bulgarians attack Adrianople
1917 1st Battle of Gaza
 
Mar 27
1794 US Navy established with authority to build 6 Frigates
1809 Battle of Ciudad-Real
1814 Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Ala. US troops defeat Creek Indians
1836 Texas War of Independence: Goliad Massacre
1854 Crimean War: U.K. declares War on Russia
1863 Gunboat USS Diana captured @ Pattersonville, La
1865 Mobile Campaign: Siege of Spanish Fort begins
1886 Geronimo surrenders
1938 Battle of Tairzhuang
1941 Yugoslavian Air Force overthrows pro Axis Govt in a coup
1943 naval Battle of the Komandorski Islands
1945 Operation Starvation, the mining of Japan's ports & waterways, begins
1994 1st flight Eurofighter
 
March 28th

1940: The British War Cabinet decides to lay mines in neutral Norwegian waters and to establish military bases on the coast of Norway.
1941: In the Mediterranean, the British Navy attacks Italian naval forces at Cape Matapan, Greece, and sinks three cruisers and one destroyer.
1942: Under the new tactical doctrine of area saturation bombing, introduced by Air Vice Marshal Harris, the RAF launches a heavy incendiary attack (234 bombers) against Lübeck on the Baltic that devastates 265 acres of the city.
1944: The Red Army recaptures Nikolaev on the Black Sea and enters Rumanian territory.
1945: Argentina declares war against Germany. The US Third Army captures Limburg on the Lahn. In the East, the 1st Belorussian Front captures Gotenhafen north of Danzig. Hitler replaces General Guderian with General Krebs as chief of the OKH.
source: http://www.feldgrau.com/march.html

1918:Sergeant S.R. McDougall, VC. - Sergeant S.R. McDougall, 47th Battalion, originally from Recherche, Tasmania, wins the Victoria Cross at Dernancourt.
source: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/index.asp

1794 - Allies under the prince of Coburg defeated French forces at Le Cateau.
1809 - Peninsular War: In the Battle of Medelin the France defeats Spain.
1854 - Crimean War: France declares war on Russia.
1860 - First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass - In New Mexico, Union forces succeed in stopping the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle begun on March 26.
1942: In occupied France, British naval forces raid the German-occupied port of St. Nazaire.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_28

1800 - Essex becomes first U.S. Navy vessel to pass Cape of Good Hope
1814 - HMS Phoebe and Cherub capture USS Essex off Valparaiso, Chile. Before capture, Essex had captured 24 British prizes during the War of 1812.
1848 - USS Supply reaches the Bay of Acre, anchoring under Mount Carmel near the village of Haifa, during expedition to explore the Dead Sea and the River Jordan.

source: http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesmar.htm

1942: In response to General Stilwell's request for a British counter-attack to relieve the pressure on Chinese forces around Toungoo, Alexander orders the 1st Burma Corps to attack at Paungde and Prome in the Irrawaddy valley. Under the new tactical doctrine of area saturation bombing, introduced by Air Vice Marshal Harris, the RAF launches a heavy incendiary attack (234 bombers) against Lübeck on the Baltic that devastates 265 acres of the old city. The RAF lost 13 aircraft and from one of these the Germans were able to obtain their first specimen of the GEE equipment. In retaliation for the raid on Lübeck, Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to bomb historic British towns and cities.
1943: The British First Army goes onto the offensive in northern Tunisia.
1944: Merrill’s ‘Marauders’ begin a 10-day defensive action against 1,300 Japanese at Nhpum Ga Ridge. The Russians recapture Nikolaev on the Black Sea and enter Romanian territory.
1945: The 1st Belorussian Front captures Gotenhafen (Gdynia) north of Danzig, along with 9,000 prisoners, after a long struggle. Hitler replaces General Guderian with General Krebs as chief of OKH. The British Second Army begin its drive towards the Elbe as the U.S. First Army captures Marburg, 60 miles Northeast of Koblenz. The US Third Army captures Limburg on the Lahn.
source: http://www.worldwar-2.net/timelines/timelines-index.htm
 
Mar 29
1461 Battle of Iowton
1847 US troops captures Vera Cruz
1857 Sepoy Mutiny begins
1865 Union attack @ Five Forks, Va. beaten back.
1879 Battle of Kambula
1911 M1911 pistol adopted by US Army
1945 Last V-1 attack on England
1973 Last US combat troops leave Vietnam. Operation Barrel Roll, the secret bombing of Laos, ends
 
Mar 31
1863 Jacksonville, Fla evacuated by Union troops. USS Hartford, Albatross & Switzerland run by the CS batteries @ Grand Gulf, Miss.
1865 Battle of Dunwiddie Court House, Va
1866 Spanish Navy bombards Valparaiso, Chile
1921 Royal Australian Air Force established
1942 Japanese capture Christmas Island
 
Apr 1
1318 Scots capture Burwick-Upon-Tweed from the English
1865 Battle of Five Forks, Va
1918 Royal Air Force created
1924 Royal Canadian Air Force est.
1937 Spanish Civil War ends
1945 US troops land on Okinawa
1969 Harrier enters service with the RAF
 
April 2
1755 British capture pirate fortress @ Suvarnadurg, India
1801 naval Battle of Copenhagen
1865 Siege of Petersburg: Siege ends as Union troops launch a major attack all along the lines, shattering the Confederate defenses. Richmond is abandonded & fires from burning military supplys destroy a large part of the City. The CS Navy destroys the ironclads of the James River Squadron & the crews march south with the Army. Wilson's Raid:Battle of Selma, Ala. Mobile Campaign: Having laid siege to the Confederate fort known as Spanish Fort a few days earlier, Union troops begin the siege of Ft. Blakely, just north of Spanish Fort.
1982 Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.
 
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Apr 5
1242 battle of Lake Peipus
1818 Battle of Maipu
1942 Japanese air raid on Colombo, Ceylon. Cruisers HMS Cornwall & Dorsetshire sunk south of the Island.
 
April 6th

1941: German, Italian and Hungarian forces begin the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece. The Luftwaffe carries out several devastating bombing raids against Belgrade.
1942: Axis bombers attack the port of Alexandria in Egypt.
1943: Units of Heeresgruppe A (von Weichs) begin an offensive against the Black Sea port of Novorossisk in the Caucasus. US and British forces in Tunisia launch an attack against 5.Panzerarmee (von Arnim).
1945: In the East, after eliminating the Heiligenbeil pocket, the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front (Vassilevsky) reaches the Baltic coast in East Prussia, separating communications between 2.Armee (von Tippelkirch) defending besieged Königsberg and 4. Armee (Hossbach) holding the Vistula delta N of Marienbrg. In the Southeast, Tito partisans occupy Sarajevo in Bosnia.
source:
http://www.feldgrau.com/april.html

1942: US 41st Division arrives in Australia - Between December 1941 and August 1945 some one million Americans were stationed in Australia.
1952: 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, arrives in Korea The Battalion remained in Korea until September 1953.source:
http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/thismonth/apr.htm

1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh begins - In Tennessee, forces under UnionGeneralUlysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by GeneralAlbert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh.
1865 - American Civil War:
Battle of Sayler's Creek - ConfederateGeneralRobert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.
1917 -
World War I: United States declares war on Germany
1941 - World War II: Operation Castigo begins; Germany invades Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Greece.
source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_6

1942: Aldershott England -General Andrew G.L. (Andy) McNaughton 1887-1966 forms the First Canadian Army in Britain with five divisions, two armored brigades, and 3 other divisions slated for home defence.
source:
http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Apr&day=06

1776 - Sloop-of-war Ranger, frigate Queen of France and frigate Warren capture British Hibernia and 7 other vessels
1862 - Naval Gunfire from Tyler and Lexington help save Union Troops at Battle of Shiloh
1909 - Commander Robert E. Peary reports reaching the North Pole
1917 - U.S. declares war on Germany
1945 - First heavy kamikaze attack on ships at Okinawa.
1961 - USS Lake Champlain brings oxygen to aid stricken passenger of British liner Queen of Bermuda.
1968 - USS New Jersey recommissioned for shore bombardment duty in Vietnam
source:
http://www.history.navy.mil/wars/datesapr.htm

:army:
 
Apr 6
46 B.C. Battle of Thapus
402 Battle of Pollentia
1453 Siege of Constantinople begins
1812 Siege of Badajoz ends with British capturing the city
1911 Battle of Deciq
 
Apr 7
1862 Battle of Shiloh ends. Battle of Island #10 begins with US river fleet running past the CS batteries & landing troops down stream.
1863 9 Ironclads of the South Atlantic Blockade Squadron engage Ft. Sumter & are heavily damaged
1939 Italy invades Albania
1945 IJN Yamato sunk by carrier planes
1989 Soviet sub Komsomolets sinks
2003 US troops capture Baghdad
 
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Apr 8
1740 3 British ships-of-the-Line capture the Spanish Ship-of-the-Line Princesa 70
1862 Battle of Island #10: The CS Garrison realizes they are trapped with no escape route & surrender
1863 Ironclad USS Keokuk, badly battered in yesterday's exchange with Ft. Sumter, sinks
1864 Battle of Mansfield, La
1865 Mobile Campaign: Siege of Spanish Fort: early in the evening besiegers attack & capture part of the works, causing the garrison to evacuate. Siege of Ft. Blakely: Union artillery open fire on gunboat CSS Morgan & Ironclads Nashville & Huntsville, heavily damaging Morgan & Nashville, all 3 withdraw
1942 Japanese capture Bataan Pininsula
 
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