The Battle of Milne Bay, also known as Operation RE by the Japanese, was
a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II from 25 August to 7
September 1942. Japanese naval troops, known as Kaigun Rikusentai,
attacked the Allied airfields at Milne Bay that had been established on
the eastern tip of New Guinea. The Japanese miscalculated the size of
the garrison and initially landed a force roughly equivalent in size to
one battalion on 25 August. Meanwhile the Allies, forewarned by
intelligence from Ultra, had heavily reinforced the garrison. Despite
suffering a significant setback at the outset, when part of the invasion
force had its landing craft destroyed by Allied aircraft as they
attempted to land on the coast behind the Australian defenders, the
Japanese quickly pushed inland and began their advance towards the
airfields. Heavy fighting followed as they came up against Australian
Militia and the veteran Second Australian Imperial Force units. Allied
air superiority helped tip the balance. Finding themselves outnumbered,
lacking supplies and suffering heavy casualties, the Japanese were
compelled to withdraw their forces. The battle is considered to be the
first in the Pacific campaign in which Allied troops decisively defeated
Japanese land forces.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Milne_Bay>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1346:
Hundred Years' War: English forces established the military
supremacy of the English longbow over the French combination of crossbow
and armoured knights at the Battle of Crécy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cr%C3%A9cy>
1748:
The first Lutheran denomination in North America, the
Pennsylvania Ministerium, was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Ministerium>
1810:
Juan José Castelli ordered the execution of Santiago de
Liniers, during the Argentine War of Independence.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Liniers,_1st_Count_of_Buenos_Aires>
1883:
The largest explosion in human history took place when an
eruption destroyed the volcanic island of Krakatoa (pictured).
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1883_eruption_of_Krakatoa>
1968:
The U.S. Democratic Party's National Convention began at the
International Amphitheatre in Chicago, sparking four days of clashes
between anti–Vietnam War protesters and police.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention>
1977:
The National Assembly of Quebec declared French to be the only
official language of Quebec.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_of_the_French_Language>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
paradigm shift:
A radical change in thinking from an accepted point of view to a new
one, necessitated when new scientific discoveries produce anomalies in
the current paradigm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/paradigm_shift>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
The true definition of a snob is one who craves for what separates men
rather than for what unites them.
--John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Buchan,_1st_Baron_Tweedsmuir>