The Battle of Taejon (14–21 July 1950) was an early battle between
United States and North Korean forces during the Korean War. U.S. Army
forces, attempting to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry
Division, were overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean
People's Army (KPA) at the major city and transportation hub of Taejon.
The Americans were already exhausted after two weeks of attempting to
stem the KPA's advance. The entire 24th Division gathered to make a
final stand around Taejon, holding a line along the Kum River to the
east of the city. The American forces, outnumbered, ill-equipped and
untrained, were pushed back from the river bank after several days,
before fighting an intense urban battle to defend the city. After a
fierce three-day struggle, they withdrew. Although they could not hold
the city, the 24th Infantry Division achieved a strategic victory by
delaying the North Koreans, providing time for other American divisions
to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south. The KPA
captured Major General William F. Dean, the commander of the
24th Infantry Division, and the highest-ranking American prisoner
during the Korean War.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Taejon>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
365:
A large earthquake that occurred near Crete and its subsequent
tsunami caused widespread destruction throughout the eastern
Mediterranean region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/365_Crete_earthquake>
1645:
Qing Dynasty regent Dorgon issued an edict ordering all Han
Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair
into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queue_(hairstyle)>
1865:
In one of the few recorded instances of a "quick draw" gun duel
in the American Old West, Wild Bill Hickok shot and killed Davis Tutt
over a poker debt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hickok_%E2%80%93_Davis_Tutt_shootout>
1973:
Mossad agents mistakenly assassinated a Moroccan waiter in
Lillehammer, Norway, whom they believed had been involved in the 1972
Munich Olympics massacre.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillehammer_affair>
1977:
Libyan forces carried out a raid at Sallum, sparking a four-day
war with Egypt.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan%E2%80%93Egyptian_War>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
mither:
1. (intransitive, Northern England) To make an unnecessary fuss, moan,
bother.
2. (transitive) To pester or irritate someone. Usually directed at
children.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mither>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember
that.
--Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher%27s_Stone>