The Battle of Sio, fought between December 1943 and March 1944, was the break-out and pursuit phase of General Douglas MacArthur's Huon Peninsula campaign, part of the New Guinea campaign of World War II. Following the defeat of the Japanese in the Battle of Sattelberg, Australian Army forces broke through positions around Finschhafen. Constant pressure from US Navy PT boats, Australian land forces and Allied aircraft brought the Japanese logistical system to the brink of collapse, resulting in disease, malnutrition and privation for the Japanese soldiers. Australian and Papuan troops advanced along the coast, employing infantry, tanks, and air strikes against the Japanese positions, which were generally sited at creek crossings in the jungle. The Australian and Papuan troops inflicted heavy and disproportionate casualties on the Japanese as they advanced, ultimately linking up with the American forces at Saidor. Australian troops were also able to capture important Japanese cryptographic materials. Hundreds of Japanese soldiers were killed; thousands more died from disease, malnutrition, exhaustion and suicide.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sio
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1484:
Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, giving Dominican Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer explicit authority to prosecute witchcraft in Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summis_desiderantes_affectibus
1775:
American Revolutionary War: Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in New York to arrange the transport of 60 tons of artillery that would be used to strengthen the Siege of Boston. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_train_of_artillery
1945:
Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. naval TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, disappeared in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_19
1965:
The "Glasnost Meeting" became the first demonstration in the Soviet Union after the Second World War and marked the beginning of a civil rights movement in the country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasnost_Meeting
1995:
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 56 crashed shortly after takeoff from Nakhchivan Airport, killing 52 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan_Airlines_Flight_56
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
fussbudget: One who complains or fusses a great deal, especially about unimportant matters; a fusspot. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fussbudget
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
I don't believe in playing down to children, either in life or in motion pictures. I didn't treat my own youngsters like fragile flowers, and I think no parent should. Children are people, and they should have to reach to learn about things, to understand things, just as adults have to reach if they want to grow in mental stature. Life is composed of lights and shadows, and we would be untruthful, insincere, and saccharine if we tried to pretend there were no shadows. Most things are good, and they are the strongest things; but there are evil things too, and you are not doing a child a favor by trying to shield him from reality. The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil, and that is what our pictures attempt to do. --Walt Disney https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Walt_Disney