Battle of Waterloo

After being banished to Elba then escaping and resuming power Napoleon's Hundred Days ended when he was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by the British under Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, on June 18, 1815. During the last stage of the battle, Wellington was supported by the Prussians under Field Marshal von Blücher.

Britain and its allies had 68,000 soldiers. They were joined by 48,000 men from the Prussian army in mid-afternoon.

Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler

The French army, outnumbered and poorly equipped, comprised 50,700 infantry, 14,400 cavalry, 8,000 artillery and 250 guns.

Wellington described his own troops as, "an infamous army, very weak and ill-equipped, and a very inexperienced staff." He apparently said the battle was, "a damn close thing."

The Battle of Waterloo started around noon on June 18, 1815 and ended by 11pm.

It actually took place at Braine l'Alleud, about eight miles (13 kms) south of Waterloo, but Wellington had a habit of naming battles after the place he had spent the previous night.

When the battle was fought, Waterloo, which is now in Belgium, was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Heavy rain before the battle created swamp-like conditions. Wellington stayed on the high ground, forcing the French to slog uphill from the boggy valley, with their guns sunk up to their axles in thick mud.

Some of Wellington's officers took umbrellas with them onto the battlefield. The surgeon of Captain Mercer’s troop of Horse Artillery was seen to be sheltering under a brolly during the early part of the battle.

Map of the battle: Napoleon's units are in blue, Wellington's in red, Blücher's in grey.

A haemorrhoids sufferer, Napoleon's piles were so painful that he couldn't mount his horse to survey the field at Waterloo, which may well have contributed to the outcome.

The Duke of Wellington was almost kicked in the head by his war horse Copenhagen after riding his mount for 17 straight hours during the Battle of Waterloo.

The French suffered more than 41,000 casualties compared with Wellington and Blücher’s combined forces who suffered 24,000 wounded, killed and missing. Ten thousand horses also died.

The outcome of the Battle of Waterloo was first delivered by a pigeon to England.

The Rothschilds had such an efficient system of couriers that they knew Napoleon had lost at Waterloo a day before the British government did. Nathan Rothschild kept it secret and immediately bought up the government bond market. He then sold the bonds for an enormous 40% profit two years later.

Sir David Wilkie, The Chelsea Pensioners reading the Waterloo Dispatch, 1822

The Battle of Waterloo ended 12 years’ war between France and an alliance including Britain, Russia, the Netherlands and Prussia (now in Germany).

After the defeat, Napoleon was captured and exiled to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died in 1821.

The Duke of Wellington was awarded a victory bonus of £61,000 – worth £3 million today plus a country house at Stratfield Saye near Basingstoke.

In France and Germany the Battle of Waterloo is called La Belle Alliance after the 'beautiful alliance' between Britain and Prussia.

At the close of the Battle of Waterloo the British officer Fitzroy Raglan was standing beside the Duke Of Wellington when a bullet smashed his right arm. The shattered limb had to be amputated, which Raglan stoically bore, but as his arm was taken away for disposal he cried out "Don't carry away that arm till I have taken off my ring." The gallant officer then proceeded to retrieve from his limb a ring that his wife had given him.

There is a memorial to Lord Uxbridge's leg at Waterloo, shattered in the battle and amputated. When Uxbridge died 39 years later, the leg was exhumed and buried with the rest of him.

The Queen of England's guard wear tall bear skin hats because at the Battle of Waterloo, English troops took them as a trophy from France. They had been worn by Napoleon's elite guard.

After Waterloo, British forces were not in action in Europe until the First World War, 99 years later.

Waterloo Bridge across the River Thames in London was built on the site of an earlier toll bridge originally called the “Strand Bridge”. It was opened on June 18, 1817 and renamed in honor of Wellington's victory at Waterloo.

"Waterloo" by Abba was named the best song in the Eurovision Song Contest's history in 2005. The song uses the battle as a metaphor for a woman who gives in and falls in love with a man - he's her "Waterloo."

Sources Daily Mail, Daily Express

Battle of Trafalgar

The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval battle on October 21, 1805 during the Napoleonic Wars, in which the British fleet under Admiral Horatio Nelson defeated the Franco Spanish fleet. The French were commanded by Pierre-Charles Villeneuve and their defeat ended Napoleon's plans to invade Britain. 

The Battle of Trafalgar by Clarkson Stanfield

The battle was fought off Cape Trafalgar in south-west Spain, near the west entrance to the Straits of Gibraltar. The name Trafalgar comes from the Arabic for cape of the west or cape of the cave.

Six weeks before the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson spent an exorbitant £308 (about $550) on port as he was planning a monumental party to mark his forthcoming victory. 

Nelson ordered his ships to be painted yellow and black to distinguish them from the enemy.

Before the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson was discussing their chances with Thomas Masterman Hardy, his captain. "I shall not be satisfied with anything less than the capture of 20 ships" said Nelson. He then sent his last signal:" England expects every man will do his duty".

As Admiral Nelson's flagship, HMS Victory neared the enemy at Trafalgar, the men were jumping over one anothers’ heads to amuse themselves until they were ready to fire.

At the battle, 27 British ships led by Admiral Nelson defeated 33 French and Spanish ships.

Britain's victory was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from the prevailing naval tactical practice of the day for opposing fleets to engage each other in single parallel lines. This was in order to facilitate signalling and disengagement, and to maximize fields of fire and target areas. Nelson instead arranged his ships into two columns to sail perpendicularly into the enemy fleet's line.

Napoleon's combined French and Spanish fleets were in the midst of defeat off Cape Trafalgar when a musket ball hit Lord Nelson's left shoulder and fatally wounded him. The dying admiral whispered to Captain Hardy, "I know I'm dying. I could have wished to survive to breathe my last upon British ground, but the will of God be done." A few moments later he had passed away. 

The French and Spaniards lost 22 ships in the battle; all the British ships survived. 

The Battle of Trafalgar J. M. W. Turner

Pierre-Charles Villeneuve was captured along with his ship. He attended Nelson's funeral shortly after. 

Britain's victory allowed them to become the world's largest sea power for 100 years.

London's Trafalgar Square was named in honor of Nelson's victory.

Source Daily Express

Battle of Tours

By 654 Islam had spread into all over of North Africa plus the Eastern Mediterranean area. Many areas were ripe for conquest as the divisions caused by Christian doctrinal conflict were weakening defenses against the Muslim invaders.

Also there was much nominal and ineffectual Christianity being practiced, which made it easy for the new religion to take hold. For instance Christianity arrived in Nubia part of modern day Sudan, in the sixth century and it became the state religion. However the Christian faith never caught on among the general public as the church services were in Greek, which none of the people spoke so they failed to understand what was going on. In time it fizzled out to be replaced by Islam.

On the death of King Witiza in 710, Roderic, Duke of Baetica in southern Spain was made King and Witiza's family turned to the North African Muslims for help. The following year Tariq ibn Ziyad, the governor of Tangier, landed at Gibraltar with 7000 men and defeated King Roderic in battle. For the next 300 years most of the Iberian peninsular was to be under Islamic control.

In 732 an army of around 60,000 Muslims led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus crossed the Pyrenees and invaded France. Their western advance was halted by Charles Martel, the King of the Francs at the Battle of Tours, near Poitiers on October 10, 732.

Charles Martel in the Battle of Tours. Charles de Steuben 

Though the Frankish army numbered 30,000, less than half the Muslim force, Abd-ar-Rahman was killed and Charles Martel's men emerged from the battle victorious. Charles's victory stopped the northward advance of the Islamic forces from the Iberian Peninsula and preserved Christianity in Europe during a period when Muslim rule was overrunning the remains of the Byzantine and Persian Empires. The progress of Islam, that was filling the Christian world with alarm, had been checked.

Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme was an allied offensive in World War I between July and November 1916 on both sides of the upper reaches of the River Somme in Picardy, France.

Map of the Battle of the Somme, 1916.

On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,240 soldiers of the British Army were killed and 40,000 wounded making it the worst day in the history of the British army. The French Army had 1,590 casualties and the German Army lost 10,000–12,000 men.

During the battle of the Somme, the British sent into action vehicles of an entirely new kind, the Mark I tank.

The tanks had a crew of three men. The maximum speed that they could travel was 3.6 mph and they were not able to cross the trenches.

The first tank battle, Flers-Courcelette named after the two villages that were the objectives for the attack, started on September 15, 1916.

Of the forty-nine tanks shipped to the Somme, only thirty-two arrived to begin the first attack in which they were used. Because they were only armed lightly and the mechanics of them often went wrong they did not make a great impact and only nine made it across no man's land to the German lines. However, casualties were low in the tank crews.

British Mark I male tank near Thiepval, 25 September 1916

Though on this first occasion these "secret weapons" of the British Army made relatively little impression, on their second outing, at Cambrai in November 1917, the tanks proved their unmistakable value in clearing the battleground for the infantry following behind them.

J.R.R. Tolkien and Adolf Hitler both fought at the Battle of the Somme. Hitler was wounded in the left thigh in October 1916 when a shell exploded in the dispatch runners' dugout. Tolkien fought as a second lieutenant.

Otto Frank (the father of Anne Frank) was a foot soldier at the Battle of the Somme.

Pooh Bear author A. A. Milne was injured on July 7, 1916 while serving in the Battle of the Somme and invalided back to England.

The Prince of Wales served on the Somme as a Staff Officer but wasn't involved in the fighting. However, the understanding his service gave him of ordinary men and the admiration he earned from them, influenced the rest of his life as Prince of Wales and Edward VIII.

Sidney George Lewis enlisted in the East Surrey Regiment in August 1915 at the age of twelve. His parents had no idea where he was.. He fought in the Battle of the Somme then aged thirteen, in the 106th Machine Gun Company of the Machine Gun Corps. when his mother was told where her son was by a comrade home on leave, and she demanded that the War Office release him and they discharged the boy. He was the youngest authenticated British soldier in World War I

By the end of the Battle of the Somme, British and French forces had penetrated 6 miles (10 km) into German-occupied territory, taking more ground than in any of their offensives since the Battle of the Marne in 1914. They halted 3 miles (5 kmi) from Bapaume, where the German armies maintained their positions over the winter.

More than three million men fought in the Battle of the Somme and over 1.5 million people either died, were wounded or went missing. It was the bloodiest battle in World War I, especially from the point of view of Britain.

During World War I, the British Army had “Pals battalions”; letting men from the same community to serve in the war together. This practice was ended after the Somme offensive, as entire battalions were wiped out, meaning their communities back home were devastated.

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor is a lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu.

The United States was granted exclusive rights to enter Pearl Harbor and to maintain a repair and coaling station for ships there on January 20, 1887.

Following the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the United States Navy established a base on the island in 1899 and Pearl Harbor was refitted to allow for more navy ships.

In 1932 Admiral Harry E. Yarnell launched a simulated carrier attack on Pearl Harbor. Declared a total success by umpires, Yarnell warned of the vulnerability. Naval Intelligence knew Japanese writers reported on it.

Pearl Harbor on October 30, 1941, looking southwest

In the early 1940s, many Western countries reacted to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina by banning oil trading with the country. Japan reacted by planning to take over European colonies in Asia to create a great defensive area in the Pacific which would let it free to get resources. However, before any future invasion, it first had to destroy the American Pacific Fleet. On September 24, 1941, the Japanese consul in Hawaii was instructed to calculate the number of battleships at Pearl Harbor and report the findings to Japan.

On August 18, 1941, German double agent Duško Popov showed the FBI a German intelligence questionnaire heavily focused on Pearl Harbor’s defences, effectively warning of a possible Japanese attack, but FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover neither passed this warning to top U.S. military or political leaders nor took meaningful action on it.

At 7:55 a.m. Hawaii time on December 7, 1941, a Japanese dive bomber bearing the red symbol of the Rising Sun of Japan on its wings appeared out of the clouds above the island of Oahu. A swarm of 360 Japanese aircraft followed, descending on the US Pacific Fleet as it lay in port in Pearl Harbor.

Shortly before the attack, the Japanese government sent its declaration of war to its embassy in America. However, the message was so long and confusingly worded that by the time the embassy had it decoded and translated, the attack had already finished.

The USS Arizona was struck several times before a bomb blew up the forward ammunition magazines, causing a cataclysmic explosion. The ship's destruction killed 1,177 of the 1,512 crewmen on board at the time, representing almost half of the American fatalities in the attack. The USS Arizona's crew included 37 pairs or trios of brothers. Of these, 23 sets of brothers died and only one full set survived.

Arizona during the attack

Annie Fox was the first woman to receive the US Purple Heart Medal. She was wounded while serving at Hickam Field during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941.

The Pearl Harbor attack was carried out by 353 Japanese warplanes. After just two hours of bombing, 2,403 Americans were dead, 21 ships were either been sunk or damaged, and more than 188 US aircraft destroyed.

The Japanese also launched five midget submarines, which were approximately 78 and a half feet long and six feet wide and held only a two man crew. The plan was for them to sneak into Pearl Harbor and aid in the attack against the battleships. However, all five of these midget subs were sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The United States promptly declared war on Japan whose allies, Italy and Germany, in turn declared war on the United States.

The United Kingdom declared war on Japan nine hours before the US did, partially due to Japanese attacks on the British colonies of  Hong Kong and British Malaya; and partially due to Winston Churchill's promise to declare war "within the hour" of a Japanese attack on the United States.

The US Senate voted for war against Japan by 82 to 0, and the House of Representatives approved the resolution by a vote of 388 to 1. The sole dissenter was Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, a devout pacifist who had also cast a dissenting vote against the US. entrance into World War I. She said of her decision ""I voted as the mothers would have had me vote."

After bombing Pearl Harbor, a Japanese Pilot crashed on the nearby Ni'ihau Island, part of Hawaii. The local Japanese American residents freed the captured pilot, stole weapons, and took several hostages. This was cited as a reason why Japanese internment camps were needed during World War II.

It took up to 16 days for some men to die at Pearl Harbor in the sunken ships. When the USS West Virginia battleship was finally salvaged six months after the attack, a calendar was found in an air tight room where three trapped sailors had marked off 16 days until they died.

After Japan surrendered to the United States in 1945, former Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo was the butt of a prank. While awaiting trial for war crimes in Tokyo prison, an American dentist drilled "Remember Pearl Harbor" into his top set of false teeth, right at the tip of his tongue.

Hawaii was not a U.S. state when Pearl Harbor was attacked. It was 18 years after Pearl Harbor that Hawaii officially became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959.

The Michael Bay film Pearl Harbor cost $140 million to produce, as much as the actual rebuilding of Pearl Harbor, and lasts a full hour longer than the actual attack.

Decades after Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona continues to leak up to 9 quarts of oil each day.

Battle of Marathon

The Battle of Marathon took place on the plain of Marathon twenty-six miles north of Athens.  The Persian forces under King Darius I were advancing victoriously towards the west, conquering one country after another. On September 12, 490 BC they were confronted by the Greek army which, under the command of Miltiades, counted just over 10,000 hoplite warriors. The Greeks were outnumbered several times by the Persians. The battle was part of the first Greco-Persian war. And the end of the first attempt by Persia, to conquer Greece.

Modern drawing of the phalanx formation employed by Greek hoplites

The Persian invasion was a response to Athens and Eretria sending a force to support the cities of Ionia, who were trying to overthrow Persian rule. In response, Darius swore to burn Athens and Eretria to the ground.

In desperate need of more men, Miltiades dispatched a messenger Pheidippides, the fastest runner among his soldiers, to Sparta, to ask for reinforcements. Pheidippides covered the 150 miles (240 kilometres)  in two days. But it was an abortive mission. Assistance was refused. Religious reasons, he was told, made it impossible for members of the Spartan army to be dispatched prior to the next full moon - much too late to be of any help.

Undaunted, and without the aid of an ally, the Greeks thus joined in battle. Despite the numerical advantage of the Persians, the Greek hoplites proved very effective against the more lightly armed Persian infantry. They routed the Persian wings before turning in on the center of the Persian line. The Persian army was driven into the sea by the Athenians, putting an end to Asian ambitions in Greece.  An estimated 6,400 Persians were slaughtered while only 192 Greeks were killed.

It was feared that the Persian fleet would attack Athens and that the men defending the city might prematurely surrender if unaware of their countrymen's triumph at Marathon. So, once again, Pheidippides was sent off, this time on a 26 miles (42 kilometres)  journey to announce the victory. The messenger reached his destination totally exhausted. With his last breath he reported the victory. Gasping, "Rejoice - we conquered," he collapsed and died.  Meanwhile, the Greek warriors made a forced march back to Athens and arrived in time to thwart the Persian fleet.

The Battle of Marathon was a watershed in the Greco-Persian wars, showing the fledgling Greek states that the Persians could be beaten. The eventual Greek triumph in these wars began at Marathon. The following two hundred years saw the rise of the Classical Greek civilization, which has been so influential in western society.

The Persian Army brought an immense block of marble to the Battle of Marathon, intending to build a monument of their victory. Captured by the Greeks, they sculpted a statue of Nemesis, the goddess who cuts down those with too much pride.

Battle of Lepanto

The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on October 7, 1571 between a fleet of the Holy League (a coalition of Spain, Venice, and the Papal States arranged by Pope Pius V) and the fleet of the Ottoman Empire. It was part of the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War and the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.

The Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto met the Holy League forces, which came from Messina, Sicily, where they had previously gathered on the northern edge of the Gulf of Corinth, off western Greece. The Christian naval soldiers called upon the name of Our Lady of the Rosary as they engaged in battle.

The Battle of Lepanto, unknown artist, late 16th century

The superior force of the Ottoman fleet was decisively defeated by The Holy League led by Philip II of Spain's admiral Don Juan of Austria. The victory prevented the Ottoman Empire from expanding further along the European side of the Mediterranean.

A soldier for the Papal Army, the author of Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes, served on the galley Marquesa during the battle. Though taken down with fever, Cervantes refused to stay below, and begged to be allowed to take part in the engagement, saying that he would rather die for his God and his king than keep under cover.

Cervantes fought bravely on board a vessel, and suffered three gunshot wounds all together, in his chest and left arm. It was "for the greater glory of the right" he said of the wound to his left arm which rendered it useless for the rest of his life.

Cervantes always looked back on his conduct in the battle with pride: he believed that he had taken part in an event that would shape the course of European history.

Lepanto was the last major naval battle in the Mediterranean fought entirely between galleys and has been assigned great symbolic and historical importance by a number of historians.

Battle of Hastings

It was found after the death of King Edward the Confessor, that the English monarch had disinherited his cousin, William of Normandy and appointed Harold, the second son of Godwin, instead as his successor. William, believing he has the rightful claim to the throne and having received the pope's blessing landed on Pevensey beach on September 28, 1066.

William the Conqueror invades England

William's first action on landing on Pevensey beach was ominously to trip over, land on his face and swallow some sand. A great cry went up that it was a bad omen but always ready for a bon mot, Norman duke splattered " I have seized England with both hands."

Arming for the Battle of Hastings, William put his mail shirt on back to front, causing worried comments among his superstitious followers.“Just as I turn the hauberk round, I will turn myself from duke to king,” responded the quick-thinking Norman.

The Battle of Hastings was fought between Anglo-Saxon King Harold II and his men and the Norman-French army of Duke William II of Normandy, on October 14, 1066. The engagement took place around a small stream called the Senlac, which is actually nearer to the town of Battle than Hastings.

Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Battle of Hastings.

Taillefer, William of Normandy's minstrel, asked for the honor of charging the Saxon lines first. His request duly granted, he rode towards the enemy singing "The Song of Roland," a tale of bravery of a Frankish general  in the service of the Emperor of Hastings. Taillefer cut down his first two opponents but was soon dashed to pieces by the Saxons who let out their traditional war cry of "ut, ut, ut."

King Harold had made the mistake of rushing his tired troops, many of whom had just fought a successful battle against the Norwegian King Hardrada at Stamford Bridge, near York. In between cavalry charges William ordered the Norman archers to shoot at the thickest part of the English.

All the British battles in medieval times stopped for lunch, and the Battle of Hastings was no exception.

King Harold was hit in the eye by an arrow, but bravely fought on, before succumbing to the injury. The English monarch's body was identified by his wife's name, Edith, tattooed on his heart. After eight hours the battle was over.

Just before the Battle of Hastings, William had sworn to erect an abbey if he won. He and his fellow Normans spend the night before in prayer whilst King Harold and his men sat up drinking. After the battle William and his victorious men erected St Martins Abbey on the hilltop where Harold was killed.

One of the contributory factors towards the Normans' victory was the drunken condition of many of the Saxons at Hastings. Indeed some of the French invaders recorded in their chronicles their amazement as to how inebriated the English soldiers were on the battlefield.

Bayeux Tapestry -The Battle of Hastings: Norman knights and archers.

William ordered Harold's body to be buried at the top of a cliff with a stone bearing the inscription "By the Duke's command, O Harold you rest here, a King that you may still be a guardian of the shore and sea.".

After the demise of their king the English chose Edgar, grandson of Edmund Ironside as his successor but Edgar wisely chose to submit to William who treated him well.

The site on which the Battle of Hastings was fought is now a field of timid sheep.

William faced rebellions for years after the Battle of Hastings, and was not secure on his throne until after 1072. He confiscated the lands of the resisting English elite, some of whom fled into exile. To control his new kingdom, William gave lands to his followers and built castles commanding military strongpoints.

England's Queen Elizabeth II was descended not from William but Harold through one of his daughters who married a Russian ruler.

The Battle of Hastings was the only instance in English history when a King William fought a King Harry.

Battle of Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1–3, 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee fought the battle with his Army of Northern Virginia of 72,000 men. The Union Army of the Potomac, under Major General Joseph Hooker, consisted of seven infantry corps, a cavalry corps, and an Artillery Reserve, for a combined strength of about 94,000 men. Gettysburg is still the largest battle to ever be fought on American soil.

Gettysburg is often called the turning point of The American Civil War as Union Major General George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac stopped attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's invasion of the North.

Hancock at Gettysburg by Thure de Thulstrup

During the early days of the Battle of Gettysburg, a nervous President Lincoln paced up and down as the battle reports poured in. With the fate of the United States in the balance, Lincoln retired to his room, locked the door and got down on his knees in prayer. He told God that he had done all he could, now the result was in His hands; that if this country was to be saved, it was because he so willed it. The burden fell off his shoulders, his intense anxiety was relieved and in its place came a great trustfulness.

The three-day battle had more casualties than any other battle in United States history. Both the Confederate and the Union forces saw 23,000 killed or injured.

The wagon train for wounded Confederates after Battle of Gettysburg was 17 miles long.

20-years-old Jennie Wade was the only Gettysburg civilian killed directly during the Battle of Gettysburg. She was hit by a stray bullet that passed through her kitchen in town while she was making bread.

Most of the dead were left on the battlefield for people in the town to bury. The National Cemetery was founded in Gettysburg to give them a proper burial place.

On June 29, 1913 the Confederates and Unions had a reunion at Gettysburg. 53,407 veterans gathered at the Gettysburg Battlefield to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It was the largest combined reunion of American Civil War veterans ever held. 

The veterans came from all over the United States to pay their respects to those who had fought and died at Gettysburg. They marched in parades, listened to speeches, and toured the battlefield. Many of the veterans were elderly and frail, but they were determined to make the trip to Gettysburg one last time.

D-Day

On D-Day, code named Operation Overlord, June 6, 1944, the Allies succeed on landing in occupied France. It was a major turning point in World War II.

D-day assault routes into Normandy

Prior to the landings, a Scottish spiritualist and medium Helen Duncan was arrested as authorities that her alleged clairvoyant powers might betray the planned date of D-Day.

Men were covertly sent ashore before the landings from submarines to collect samples of the sand to see whether it could support the weight of the tanks, trucks and other vehicles.

To plan for the operation the BBC ran a competition for pictures of French beaches. It was in fact a rouse to help gather intelligence on suitable beaches for an amphibious landing.

General Dwight Eisenhower, as commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, agonized on the date to launch the invasion. Several days of bad weather made aircraft reconnaissance impossible and seas too rough for the landing craft.

A break in the weather was forecast for June 6th. Early that morning, German defenders on bluffs overlooking the beaches were stunned to peer out over the English Channel and see thousands of ships.

It was the largest seaborne invasion in history: 7,000 ships took part.

156,000 Allied US, British, and Canadian troops landed on the Normandy beaches on June 6, 1944. The allied soldiers quickly broke through the Atlantic Wall and pushed inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history. Many felt the hand of God was involved in providing the crucial weather break needed to launch the invasion.

Men of the 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Infantry Division wade ashore on Omaha Beach

Leonard T. Schroeder was the first American soldier to land on the beach during the invasion of Normandy. He was shot twice and not only survived, but lived to be 90 years old.

Martha Gellhorn was the only woman reporter at the D-Day landings. Officially, women reporters were not permitted to accompany the troops during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Gellhorn, however, defied these restrictions. She stowed away in the toilet on a hospital ship until it set sail. Gellhorn went ashore with medics to help bring back the wounded and reported on what she saw and heard.

Combat photographer George Hjorth parachuted into France three nights before D-day with three film cameras. His mission was to hide in front of the German lines at Normandy and film whatever happened on the beach. He completed the mission successfully, but the film is lost in the archives.

As a wartime member of the Parachute Regiment, the actor Richard Todd was one of the first to be dropped into Normandy during D-Day. In The Longest Day, the 1962 film about the Allied invasion, he played Major John Howard, who led the D-Day assault of Pegasus Bridge.

Actor James Doohan, famous for his role as Scotty from the original Star Trek television series, fought in D-Day as a lieutenant with the Royal Canadian Artillery. He was shot six times that day and had his middle finger amputated. He went on to conceal it on screen throughout his acting career.

The film-maker and actor Mel Brooks was a combat engineer, Corporal Melvin Kaminsky in World War II, landing on the Normandy Beaches in June 1944. His main job was clearing land mines.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr,  the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt, was the only general to land on the beaches during D-Day. Although he was the oldest man on the beach and walked with a cane, the 56-year-old was the first man out of his landing craft. He recited poetry and joked with his men to keep them calm. Roosevelt was awarded the Medal of Honor.

One of the first soldiers to charge the beach on D-Day was a Canadian bagpiper, who only survived because German Snipers thought he was to crazy to shoot.

Among the thousands of men on the Normandy beaches on D-Day there was one single woman. Martha Gellhorn, a rogue war correspondent who stowed away in the toilet of a hospital ship and also happened to be the third wife of Ernest Hemingway.

Although the landings turned out to be a resounding success, Eisenhower hedged his bets by keeping in his pocket a communiqué announcing the failure of the landings and accepting full responsibility.

Juan Pujol Garcia was a British double agent during WWII. He told Hitler D-Day would happen at the Strait of Dover, earning him the German Iron Cross. It was actually carried out at Normandy, earning him the British MBE.

During the initial airborne landings on D-Day, paratrooper John Steele got stuck on a church tower. He played dead for two hours dangling on the side of the church, was later captured and promptly escaped, fought for the entire day and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

The “D” in D-Day stands for “Day” to reiterate its military importance.

During the D-Day landings, British soldiers identified one another by calling the word "fish". The response, signifying an ally, was "chips".

The fighting was so intense that 4% of the sand on Normandy beaches today is made up of shrapnel from D-Day that has broken down.

During D-Day, German commanders wanted to send the armored (Panzer Tanks) division to stop the allied forces. They had to wait for the order from Hitler because he was sleeping at the time and didn't want to be disturbed. When he woke up, it was too late.

The Allies landed 2,052,299 men in northern France from D-Day to August 21, 1944, which is an average of 27,034 men per day. The actual number of men landed each day varied, with the highest being on June 7, 1944, when 34,250 American troops landed on Omaha Beach. The lowest number of men landed on any day was on July 28, 1944, when only 1,800 men landed.

Source Good News Magazine

Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy took place on August 26, 1346 near Crécy in northern France during the Hundred Years War. The English routed the French thanks largely to the prowess of their archers and the use of longbows.

More than half the English army of around 10,000 were longbowmen. They were outnumbered about two to one by the French.

The French were over-reliant on crossbows that could fire only one or two bolts a minute. The longbows were five times as fast.

At Crécy, John of Luxembourg, King of Bohemia, was effectively blind and fought on the French side. The later chronicler Jean Froissart says John asked his companions to lead him forward so that he could “strike one stroke” with his sword. To keep from losing him in the crush, they linked the reins/bridles of their horses and rode toward the English; John and the men with him were killed. Froissart further claims their bodies were discovered the next day near one another, with the horses still tied togethe

It was one of the important battles in the history of warfare because of the way the English used longbows to defeat the unwieldy crossbows of the French knights. Because of this change some historians call this battle the beginning of the end of chivalry.

Source Daily Express

The Charge of the Light Brigade

The  Charge of the Light Brigade was a gallant but disastrous charge of British light cavalry against the Russian entrenched artillery on October 25, 1854. It was made by the 4th and 13th Light Dragoons, 17th Lancers, and the 8th and 11th Hussars, under the command of Major General the Earl of Cardigan during the Battle of Balaclava.

The Battle of Balaclava was a battle during the Crimean War fought by an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the French Empire, and the United Kingdom against the Russian Empire. The battle ended with a Russian victory.

Casualty figures vary but at least 664 men took part in the Charge with at least 110 killed.

The Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava by William Simpson (1855)

The Russians initially thought the Light Brigade troopers were drunk to charge as they did. They were amazed to find them sober.

After the Charge, flocks of vultures collected to feed on the corpses of soldiers and horses.

Alfred Tennyson composed his poem of the same name while walking near his Isle of Wight home after reading a newspaper report of the carnage three weeks later.

Tennyson's poem ensured that a disastrous event would actually achieve legendary status. Generations of children memorized it in school.

The woolen jacket worn by Cardigan in the Crimea became known as a cardigan, while Raglan gave his name to a type of sleeve.

Marechal Bosquet (1810-1861) said of the Charge of the Light Brigade, “C’est magnifique-mais ce n’est pas la guerre”. (It is magnificent but it is not war).

Battle of Bunker Hill

The Battle of Bunker Hill was one of the first engagements between the Colonists and British during the American War of Independence. The battle was fought on June 17, 1775 outside of Boston. The Colonists inflicted heavy casualties on British forces before losing the battle.

The Battle of Bunker Hill, by Howard Pyle, 1897

The battle actually took place mostly on Breed's Hill, not Bunker Hill.

Before the fighting began Col. William Prescott told his men, “Don’t fire till you see the whites of their eyes.”

Thousands of people watched the Battle of Bunker Hill take place. People in the Boston area sat on rooftops, in trees, on church steeples, and in the rigging of ships in the harbor to watch the American revolutionaries battle the British.

Salem Poor, a slave who purchased his freedom, is credited with mortally wounding British Lieutenant Colonel James Abercrombie during the battle. Poor's valor and gallantry at the Battle of Bunker Hill prompted 14 officers, including Colonel William Prescott, to cite him for heroism.

Women played a crucial role in the battle, providing food, water, and ammunition to the troops.

The Colonists lost the Battle of Bunker Hill when they ran out of gunpowder and had to retreat.  

The primary fighting lasted approximately two hours. Despite its short duration, the battle was a significant turning point. The colonists, though ultimately defeated, inflicted heavy casualties on the British forces, demonstrating their courage and resilience. This unexpected resistance shocked the British and boosted the morale of the American troops and their supporters.

The battle also highlighted the strategic importance of fortifications and the effectiveness of defensive tactics. The colonists' well-prepared defenses on Breed's Hill slowed the British advance and inflicted significant losses. This experience would shape future military strategies for both sides throughout the war.

The American Revolutionary War ended in 1781, with the British surrender after the siege of Yorktown, Virginia.

Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge was a pivotal engagement during World War II, lasting from December 16, 1944, to January 25, 1945. It was the last major German offensive on the Western Front and is widely regarded as one of the most critical battles of the war.

Wikipedia

The battle began as a surprise attack by German forces through the densely forested Ardennes region, spanning eastern Belgium, Luxembourg, and northeastern France. Hitler's objective was to split the British and American Allied forces, cross the Meuse River, and capture the key supply port of Antwerp. The Germans hoped that this victory would force the Allies into negotiations, allowing them to concentrate their efforts on the Eastern Front against the advancing Soviet forces.

The initial German assault involved around 200,000 troops and 1,000 tanks, catching the American forces off guard. The Germans succeeded in creating a bulge in the Allied front lines, which gave the battle its name. Several key events and locations became focal points during the battle. The town of Bastogne was heroically defended by the 101st Airborne Division, despite being surrounded by German forces. Units from the VIII Corps delayed the German advance at St. Vith, while American forces halted the Germans at Elsenborn Ridge.

Despite the initial success of the German offensive, the tide of the battle turned due to several factors. The Allies mounted a strong resistance, with reinforcements arriving, particularly from General Patton's Third Army. Supply shortages and the return of Allied air power hindered the German advance. As weather conditions improved, Allied air support increased, further hampering the German effort. By early January, the Allies launched a counteroffensive from the north and south of the bulge, forcing the Germans to retreat.

During the Battle of the Bulge, German troops who could speak English were air-dropped behind Allied lines while wearing American uniforms to cause confusion for the Allies.

At an Allied checkpoint during the Battle of the Bulge, US General Omar Bradley was detained as a possible spy when he correctly identified Springfield as the capital of Illinois. The American military police officer who questioned him mistakenly believed the capital was Chicago.

During The Battle of the Bulge, clear weather was desperately needed for an Allied advance. General Patton asked a chaplain to compose a suitable prayer. The chaplain complied, and the ensuing prayer was handed out to the troops. The weather cleared, and Patton awarded the chaplain a bronze star on the spot.

The Battle of the Bulge was significant for several reasons. It was the largest battle ever fought by the U.S. Army, involving more than 600,000 American soldiers. Casualties were heavy on both sides, with the Americans losing over 75,000 men, while the Germans suffered between 80,000 to 100,000 casualties. This battle marked the end of Germany's ability to launch a major offensive in the West, severely depleting its armored forces and experienced units. Following their defeat, Nazi forces were forced into retreat, leading to the Allied invasion of Germany and the eventual end of World War II in Europe.

Foxholes dug by American soldiers during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II still exist in the French woods to this day.

Battle Of Britain

The Battle Of Britain was a World War II air battle between German and British air forces over Britain from July 10, 1940 to October 31, 1940. The height of the battle occurred 30–31 August.

The name arose from SirWinston Churchill’s “this was their finest hour” speech on June 18, 1940: "What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."

At the outset the Germans had the advantage because they had seized airfields in the Netherlands, Belgium, and France, which were basically safe from attack and from which southeast England was within easy range. On August 1, 1940 the Luftwaffe had about 2,800 aircraft in France, Belgium, Holland, and Norway, outnumbering the RAF by four to one.

The Battle of Britain had been intended as a preliminary to the German invasion plan Seelöwe (Sea Lion), which Hitler indefinitely postponed on September 17th and abandoned on October 10th , choosing instead to invade the USSR.

German Heinkel He 111 bombers over the English Channel 1940

After being promoted by Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Douglas Bader was given command of 242 Squadron. The squadron's first sortie during the Battle of Britain on August, 30, 1940, resulted in the shooting down of 12 German planes over the English Channel in just over an hour. Bader himself was responsible for downing two Messerschmitt 110. 

Bader sitting on his Hurricane, as commanding officer of No.242 Squadron 

At first Germany's Luftwaffe aircraft was successful in destroying Britain's air force. It appeared the British RAF was about to be destroyed. In early September, King George VI called the nation to prayer, and many flocked to the churches. On September 15, 1940, two massive waves of German attacks were decisively repulsed by the RAF by deploying every aircraft in 11 Group. Sixty German aircraft were shot down in total.

Victoria Embankment, London. By Beata May - Wikipedia Commons

Mysteriously, despite the fact the RAF were down to their last legs with no reserves left, the Luftwaffe started to retreat and flew home. In retaliation for a RAF raid on Berlin, Hitler ordered a change of strategy of blitzing London and other British cities with night time raids. Even though there were many fatal British civilian casualties, this unexpected change of tactics allowed the RAF to build up again their stock of planes and trained pilots. The prayers had been answered and Britain was saved from invasion.

Hutchinson Encyclopedia © RM 2013. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.

Battle Of Bosworth Field

When Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the head of the rival House of Lancaster, landed at Milford Haven, Wales. Richard III hastened to meet him at Bosworth Field, near the village of Market Bosworth, 12 miles west of Leicester.

According to local tradition in Leicester, Richard went to see a seer in the town before heading off for the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. She told him "where your spur should strike on the ride into battle, your head shall be broken on the return".

Richard is reputed to have celebrated Mass at St James’ Church before the Battle of Bosworth.

Richard had 11,000–12,000 men and a strong position on Ambion Hill. Henry had 5,000–7,000 troops, but Lord Stanley commanded 5,000 men to the north of the royalists and when Stanley switched sides, it severely depleted his army's strength.

King Richard III at Bosworth Field. Wikipedia Commons

As many of Richard's men deserted him, his friends urged him to flee but the determined Richard fought on furiously. The King was forced into a swamp unhorsed and was hacked at by Welsh pikemen. As he fell mortally wounded, his crown was picked up and placed on Henry's head.

Richard was to be the last English king to die on the battlefield. The late king’s body was slung on a horse and taken to Leicester.

On the ride into battle Richard’s spur struck the bridge stone of the Bow Bridge; as he was being carried back over the back of a horse his head struck the same stone and was broken open.

It is said that Richard's body was dragged naked through the streets before being buried at Greyfriars Church, Leicester.

The name of Richard’s horse at Bosworth was “White Surrey”.

Tudor succeeded Richard to become Henry VII, and cemented the succession by marrying the Yorkist heir, Elizabeth of York.

Richard’s death at Bosworth marked the end of the Middle Ages.

The name "Battle of Bosworth Field" didn’t enter the common lexicon until around 1510.  Prior to this, the battle was known as Redemore or "the place of the reeds", Brownheath, or Sandeford.

The true location of the Battle of Bosworth was only ascertained in 2009, around a mile from the place previously thought.

There is a fish and chip shop in Bosworth Market called “The Batter of Bosworth”.

Source Daily Express