This Day in History

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66       Jewish Zealots storm the Fortress Antonia in Jerusalem, initiating the great rebellion against Rome

632         Mohammed, c. 62

218         Battle of Antioch: Roman Emperor Macrinus (r. 117-118) is defeated by Legion III Gallica, giving the empire to Elagabalus (r. 118-122)

1840 the Royal Navy had 77 ships-of-the-line, in contrast to France’s 23, Russia’s 33 (divided between the Baltic and the Black Sea), America’s seven, and smaller numbers held by other navies

1871. Satanta, c. 58, Kiowa war chief, suicide by jumping out a window, possibly assisted by arresting troops

1915. SecState William Jennings Bryan resigns to protest "excessive" US response to the 'Lusitania' sinking

1943         Internal explosion destroys BB 'Mutsu' in Hiroshima harbor

Following Italy’s surrender to the Allies in September of 1943, some SS men were given a very special mission by their leader Heinrich Himmler: to capture the oldest extant manuscript of the Roman historian Tacitus’ Germania which, though written some 1800 years earlier, had played a major role in shaping German nationalism; but fortunately its owner (the anti-fascist Count Aurelio Baldeschi-Balleani) had it carefully hidden.

1967. USS Liberty (AGTR-5) is mistakenly attacked by four Israeli jet fighters and three motor torpedo boats (MTB). Of the 293 U.S. personnel aboard, 34 (31 Sailors, 2 Marines, and 1 National Security Agency civilian) are killed and 171 wounded as a result of multiple strafing runs by jet aircraft, surface fire from the MTBs, and one hit by a 19-inch torpedo.

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53   BC   the Roma Triumvir Crassus was crushed by the Parthians in the Battle of Carrhae

1502. Papal agents Francesco Troches & Jacopo Santa Croce, as well as Astorgio III Manfredi (17), Sovereign Lord and Papal Vicar of Faenza , and his brother Gianevangelista Manfredi (14), Castellan of Faenza, garotted in Rome by Michellotto Coreglia on orders of Cesare Borgia

1672. Peter Alekseyevich Romanov was born, Tsar Peter “The Great” of Russia (1682-1725

1818 "I  learnt what one ought not to do, and that is always something.". Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington,  On the disastrous Netherlands Campaign of 1794-1795

1855. HM gunboats 'Merlin' and 'Firefly' gained the dunious honor of being the first ships damaged by marine mines, off Kronshtadt in the Baltic

1864   Skirmish at Roswell, Ga: Caught by a Confederate patrol while bathing in the Chattahoochie River, the men of the US 1st Tenn Cav mount a charge while buck naked

1912.   On January 27, an French Army staff study declared that aviation was "an indispensable instrument for our armies in the field" and proposed the expansion of the current aircraft inventory from 120 machines, plus 40 on order, by 328 more.

1938. The Chinese breach the Yellow River dykes at Huayangkuou, halting a Japanese offensive at the cost of perhaps 800,000 lives

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1190. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (1155-1190), drowned in the Saleph River on Crusade, at c. 68

1776. Congress appoints a committee to write a Declaration of Independence

1801. Tripoli declares war on the US, for refusing to pay protection, initiating the First Barbary War (1801-1805)

1805. The Pasha of Tripoli agrees to release American prisoners and cease attacks on U.S. shipping in return for $60,000 and an end to American efforts to unseat him, concluding the First Barbary War (1801-1805)

1826  Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II initiates slaughter of the Janissaries, c. 20,000 die

1857. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century, few armies had provision for senior officers to retire. This resulted in a lot of generals and colonels being in their 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s. For example, John de Barth Walbach was born in Germany around 1764. As a young man he served 14 years in the French Army before migrating to the United States during the French Revolution. In 1799 Walbach received a commission as a lieutenant in the Regular Army. By 1850 he was a colonel, commanding the 4th Artillery, with a brevet for brigadier general. Walbach died, still on active duty, in 1857, at the age of 93.
The glut of superannuated officers in the senior ranks, necessarily resulted in a lot of officers of lower rank serving for many years without hope of promotion. Further complicating matters was the fact that in most armies promotion was usually in the regiment. So if you were unlucky enough to serve in a regiment with a couple of old farts in the senior slots you could look forward to many years in grade; it was not unusual for lieutenants to be in their 40’s in some armies, and captains in their 50’s.
An outstanding example of what could happen when someone finally died can be found when Lt. Col. George Gordon of the 42nd Highlanders, the famous “Black Watch,” crossed the river, on September 30, 1835. Gordon’s death allowed a major with 32 years in the service to rise to lieutenant colonel, a captain of 26 years service to become major, and a lieutenant of 20 years service became a captain.
This was one reason why at gala events, officers often offered toasts to, “A long war and a glorious one,” in the hope that promotions might improve, should casualties occur.

1900. 30,000 "Boxers" invested the Chinese city of Tientsin/Tianjin, defended by European troops and volunteers

1918. Italian torpedo boat commander Luigi Rizzo sank his second battleship, the Austro-Hungarian 'Szent Istvan' --

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456   BC   Herodotus began the public reading his 'Histories' at Athens (The 12th of Hekatombaion that year)

1667. The Dutch fleet burns a major portion of the Royal Navy in the Medway

1877. Thomas C Hart, Admiral, who knew what "war warning" meant, d. 1970

1937. Marshal of the Soviet Union Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky, 44, brilliant military thinker, purged

1945 Beginning in 1895 with the second class battleships Texasand Maine, the United States Navy would eventually put into commission 61 battleships, more than any other fleet save the Royal Navy. By the time the four sisters of the Iowa Class were stricken from the Navy List, nearly 110 years later, various American battleships had seen wartime service in six wars: that with Spain in 1898, the world wars of 1917-1918 and 1941-1945, Korea, 1950-1953, Vietnam, 1968-1969, and Operation Desert Storm, 1991, not to mention occasional more limited operations, such as the Vera Cruz landings in 1914.
In the course of their active careers, these vessels suffered the loss of over 2,400 sailors killed in the line of duty.
Some 260 men perished when the Maine exploded on February 15, 1898, an incident which, despite strenuous – and often strident – claims to the contrary has still not been adequately explained.
Nearly 300 other battleship sailors were killed in various shipboard accidents, about half of them in turret explosions,

Kearsarge (BB-5)    April 12, 1906   10 killed
Georgia (BB-15)    July 15, 1907   10
Mississippi (BB-41)   June 12, 1924   48
Missisippi (BB-41)   November 20, 1943   43
Iowa (BB-61)    April 19, 1989   47
Nearly 2,000 American battleship men were killed by Japanese air attack. Most of these men, about 1,500, perished at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Of those who died that day, over a thousand were crewmen of the USS Arizona (BB-39) and the rest were serving aboard the other six battleships present. In the course of the 44 months of war that followed Japanese air attacks, notably kamikaze, killed over 400 American battleship men. In addition, approximately 30 American battleship sailors were killed by “friendly fire” during enemy air attacks.
During World War II and later conflicts American battleships were occasionally struck by enemy coast defense fire during shore bombardments. Several of these resulted in casualties, but it seems that only one man was killed; On February 17, 1945, during the preliminary bombardment of Iwo Jima , the USS Tennessee (BB-43) received a hit on one of her 5”/38 gun mounts, which killed Seaman First Class Leon Andrew Giardini and wounded four others.
Apparently only 38 American battleship sailors were killed in surface combat. This occurred off Guadalcanal on the night of November 14-15, 1942. This was a wildly confusing action that saw the South Dakota (BB-57) and the Washington (BB-56) take on HIJMS Kirishima. During the action the “Sodak” was struck by numerous enemy 5-, 6-, and 8-inch rounds, plus one – possibly two – 14-inchers. The 14" round – or rounds – that South Dakota collected on this occasion make Kirishima the only enemy battleship ever to lay a glove an American one.
But then, there were only two other occasions when American battleships engaged enemy ones.
The first encounter between an American battleship and an enemy one occurred on November 8, 1940, just a week before the Guadalcanal shoot-out, when the USS Massachusetts (BB-59), sister to the South Dakota, swapped rounds with the French Jean Bart at Casablanca, to the misfortune of the latter; the “Big Mamie” received one hit in return during this action, but it was from a French shore battery, not the battleship, and she suffered no casualties from the experience.
The third, and last time, American battleships engaged enemy ones occurred during the Battle of Surigao Strait (October 24-25, 1944), during which Mississippi (BB-41), Maryland (BB-46), West Virginia (BB-47),Tennessee (BB-43), California (BB-44), and Pennsylvania (BB-38) engaged the Japanese Fuso and Yamashiro, with most of the work being done by the first three plus flocks of cruisers, destroyers, and torpedo boats that were in support; Pennsylvania apparently didn’t even get a chance to fire.   None of the American ships was hit.

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1665.          Naval Battle of Lowescroft: The Duke of York (later James II) inflicts a decisive defeat on the Dutch
For much of the Seventeenth Century the Dutch Republic – more properly “The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands,” essentially a very a loose federation – was the premier maritime power in the world, with the largest merchant fleet, a distinguished record of naval victories over the Spanish, the French, and the English, and a global reach that included colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Yet there was actually no Dutch national navy.
In 1597 the Netherlands had organized its fleet into five “admiralties,” a system that prevailed well into the following century. But this was only the tip of the proverbial ice berg. By one tally, in 1652 the Dutch “Navy” actually comprised 26 separate corporate entities.
To begin with, there were the five provincial admiralties, each with its own funding policy and revenue stream, its own fleet, and its own personnel. For convenience, these are listed in order of the wealth of each admiralty, and thus of the size of each fleet, which was also an indication its political influence, with its administrative center also shown

Amsterdam
The Maze, headquartreed in Rotterdam
Zeeland, headquartered in Middleberg
The North Quarter of Holland, headquartered in Hoorn and Enkhuizen, “to avoid jealousy” between the two cities, with administrative personnel swtiching from the one to the other every three months.
Friesland, headquartered in Dokkum, but later moved to Harlingen
In addition, there were the two major “company” fleets,
Netherlands East India Company
Netherlands West India Company
The companies were chartered to conduct business in various parts of the world. Since it was a dangerous world, the companies maintained warships, or at least armed merchantmen, to protect their trade from pirates, local rulers, and rival merchants, not to mention indulging in a little piracy of their own when opportunity presented itself.
Then there were a number of municipal “fleets” – really more like coast guards, intended to escort vessels in local waters.
And finally there were quite a number of privateering companies, chartered by various provinces or municipalities to carry on war against the Republic’s enemies.
Despite this hodge-podge organization, Dutch fleets, under such notable sea dogs as Maarten Tromp (1598-1653) and Michiel de Ruyter (1607-1676) repeatedly swept the seas for most of the century, only gradually losing their maritime dominance as the French and particularly the English developed larger and better navies.

1900  During the Boxer Rebellion, the International Relief Expedition turns back near Anting, China, and moves to Sanstun after the Tientsin-Peking railroad is cut by the Boxers, whose anti-foreign mantra grew to burning homes and killing foreigners as well as Chinese Christians. In total, 56 Marines and Sailors receive the Medal of Honor for their actions during the Rebellion.

 1941         a report on the Nov 11, 1940, British air raid on the Italian Fleet at Taranto is distributed by the Deputy CNO to senior naval personnel, including CINCUS Husband Kimmel

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1744         Commo. George Anson returns to England after a two year circumnavigation, with £1.6 million in prize -- perhaps $2 billion today

There were a lot of generals involved in the campaign in northern France and Flanders that began on June 14, 1815, and culminated in the memorable Battle of Waterloo on June 18th.    Altogether there were 240 of them, to command nearly 360,000 troops.  And since the troops came from a lot of different armies – British, French, Prussian, Netherlands, Hanover, Brunswick, and a few others, telling the generals apart can be a bit confusing. 
Comparative General Officer Ranks
British                     French                             Netherlands   Prussia
Field Marshall   Marechal de l'Empire   Feldmarschaal   Generalfeldmarschall
General.                    --                                   Generaal   General*
Lieutenant-General   General de Division   Luitenantgeneraal   Generalleutnant
Major General   General de Brigade   Generaalmajoor   Generalmajor
--   Marechal de Camp   --   --
* Officers holding this rank had appended to it their arm of service, thus General der Kavalerie or General der Infanterie.
Note that the rank structure is not really comparable to that prevailing today in the U.S. Army.  The functional equivalent of a British major general or a French general de brigade or marechal de camp would actually be brigadier general based on their commands .  The French rank system was actually much more complicated than may appear from the table.  To begin with, the highest actual rank in the army was general de division.    Marechal de l’Empire was technically a distinction, not a rank.  Now it gets really complicated.  A corps commander who was officially a general de division might by courtesy be designated a general de corps d'armee.  However, a general de division might also sometimes be referred to as a lieutenant-general, particularly if he was functioning in a staff position.   Meanwhile, the chief-of-staff of the army was designated major general.  In addition, an officer commanding a brigade was more likely to be designated a marechal de camp (i.e., "field marshal") rather than general de brigade, which was reserved for officers with special duties, such as the commanders of the regiments of the Garde Imperial.   This complexity had developed as a result of the Revolution, which favored functional titles for military officers, chef de battailon for example, rather than major.  Unfortunately, staff personnel often required rank, so the old Royal hierarchical titles of rank survived for a long time alongside the functional Revolutionary ones. 
Further complicating matters was the fact that in all the armies an officer's social rank was often used rather than his military rank.   Thus, although Wellington was a Field Marshal  he was usually referred to as "His Grace, the Duke" without his military rank.   In Wellington's case this could become quite complicated, as he was a duke thrice over, the Portuguese and Spanish having created him such even before the British, and he was also a Prince of the Netherlands.  As each of these gave him a different title, references to him in Portuguese, Spanish, or Dutch works can easily become obscure.  For example, to the Portuguese he was the Duque de Douro, and one Portuguese language history of the Peninsular War nowhere uses any other name for him.   Then there is the problem of multiple ranks.  Wellington, for example, was a field marshal in the British, Prussian, Netherlands, and Portuguese armies, as well as being a Capitan General in the Spanish Army.  Although none of the other officers in the campaign had so many different ranks, several held more than one.  For example, the Prince of Orange was a Dutch field marshal and a general in the British Army, while the Duke of Brunswick, who commanded his division in his capacity as duke, was also a lieutenant-general in the British Army.

1938. During combined operations exercises at Singapore a raiding party from the heavy cruiser HMS Norfolk succeeded in capturing the famous Raffles hotel, and "liberating" its entire bar.

1973 Arab-Israeli War overall losses averaged one tank every fifteen minutes and one airplane every hour.

[besilarius]

1965, Rutherford B Hayes mustered put of federal service.
Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) came from a family with roots in New England dating from the late 1600s, who had later settled in Ohio. Although his father died shortly before his birth, Hayes was raised in comfortable circumstances, attended Kenyon College and Harvard Law School. When the Mexican War broke out in 1846 Hayes attempted to enlist, but he was rejected for service by reason of health. By the outbreak of the Civil War Hayes was a successful lawyer prominent in the Ohio Republican Party. He promptly helped raise the 23rd Ohio, in which he was commissioned a major on June 27, 1861.
Hayes took part in the Western Virginia Campaign in the summer of 1861. That September he was appointed judge advocate for the Ohio Department, but the following month was promoted to lieutenant colonel and deputy commander of the 23rd Ohio. Over the following ten months he saw considerable action with his regiment in many small operations in the disputed area., which subsequently became the state of West Virginia. During the Antietam Campaign in the late summer of 1862. Hayes was severely wounded in the left arm at the Battle of South Mountain (September 14). Refusing to leave the field, despite considerable loss of blood he played an important part in repulsing Confederate attacks. He was promoted to colonel and commander of the 23rd Ohio the following month.
Early the following year Hayes was given command of a brigade which was active against Confederate raiders and guerrillas in the Ohio Valley, and later command a brigade, and for a time a division, with some distinction during Sheridan's Valley Campaign. At the Battle of Cedar Creek (October19, 1864), he suffered a leg injury when his horse was killed beneath him, but continued in action, for which he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers to date from October 18, 1864.
Nominated for a seat in Congress in 1864, Hayes refused to campaign, remarking "I have other business just now. Any man who would leave the army at this time to electioneer for Congress ought to be scalped." When he was elected anyway, he refused to take his seat, saying "I shall never come to Washington until I can come by way of Richmond."
Hayes was given a brevet promotion to major general of volunteers on March 3, 1865. He resigned from the Army on June 8th. He had served in more than 50 engagements. Indeed, George Washington aside, Hayes had more front-line service than any other man who became president, and was wounded more often than any other president, five times, once quite seriously.
The ranks of the 23rd Ohio provided the nation with a number of notable soldiers and public servants. Its first commander was William S. Rosecrans, who later led the Army of the Cumberland with considerable distinction, while its first deputy commander was Eliakim P. Scammon, later a noted diplomat. Joining the regiment as enlisted men, and later rising to become officers were James M. Comfy, later a prominent ambassador, Stanley Matthews, later a justice of the United States Supreme Court, and William McKinley.
One of the most colorful characters to come out of the 23rd Ohio was Hayes' orderly, Pvt. Billy Crump. One of the most skilled foragers in the war, Crump once returning from a 20-mile excursion having "recruited" 50 chickens, two turkeys, a goose, some two dozen eggs, and nearly 30 pounds of butter for the general's mess, all of which were rather untidily draped about his horse.
Hayes was immensely proud of his military service, once remarking "I am more ratified by friendly references to my war record than by any other flattery."

1942   Guadalcanal: Marines capture the unfinished airstrip.

2004   Fay Wray, Canadian-American actor, King Kong's girl, at 96

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1678. Indians sell Jonas Bronck some real estate north of Manhattan

1815   Stephen Decatur negotiates a treaty ending hostilities with Tripoli

1918. Poet Gabriele D'Annunzio leads nine a/c in a 700 mile round-trip raid to leaflet Vienna

1919. Construction of US airship 'Shenandoah' (ZR-1) authorized.

1936. Jesse Owens wins a 4th gold medal at the Berlin Olympics

1942. Battle of Savo Island: Japanese cruisers smash Allied ships north of Guadalcanal.
      That morning Marine General Vandegrift met with senior navy admirals and was shocked at how hagard and exhausted they looked.  That night admiral Crutcheley after another meeting with admiral Turner went to bed without alerting the south cruiisers of his location or that he and cruiser Canberra would not return to station.

1942. Chinese forces defeat a Japanese Invasion of Kingi province.

[bayonetbrant]

1919. Construction of US airship 'Shenandoah' (ZR-1) authorized.

Claims of its effectiveness or severely inflated

[bob48]

That's interesting 

[JudgeDredd]

1919. Construction of US airship 'Shenandoah' (ZR-1) authorized.

Claims of its effectiveness or severely inflated

[bob48]

...I can't believe I missed the pun........must be slipping.

[besilarius]

Bravo Zulu.

[Staggerwing]

1919. Construction of US airship 'Shenandoah' (ZR-1) authorized.

Claims of its effectiveness or severely inflated

ZRS fanboy that I am, I do have to admit that Shenandoah broke in half during a severe storm. Free-ballooning the bow half to a safe landing did earn Lieutenant Commander (later Vice Admiral) Charles Rosendahl a distinguished flying cross.

[besilarius]

30   BC   Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt (51-30 BC), 39, asped

1071    the Seljuk Turks inflicted a devastating defeat on the Byzantines in the Battle of Manzikert, capturing Emperor Romanus IV

1718. Battle of Cape Passaro. British fleet under Sir George Byng defeated Spanish fleet under Antonio de Gaztaneta off Sicily.

1942. Guadalcanal: First US airplane reaches Henderson Field
1942. New Guinea: Japanese troops reach the crest of the Owen Stanley Mtns as a convoy lands reinforcements at Buna.
1942. USS Cleveland (CL 55) demonstrates the effectiveness of radio-proximity fuze (VT-fuze) against aircraft by successfully destroying three drones with proximity bursts fired by her five inch guns.