The Battle of Arawe was fought between Allied and Japanese forces during
the New Britain Campaign of World War II. The battle was initiated by
the Allies to divert Japanese attention away from the Cape Gloucester
area of New Britain ahead of a major offensive there in late December
1943. A force built around the U.S. Army's 112th Cavalry Regimental
Combat Team landed at Arawe on 15 December 1943 and rapidly overcame
the area's small garrison. Japanese air units made large-scale raids
against the Arawe area in the following days, and in late December
elements of two Imperial Japanese Army battalions unsuccessfully
counter-attacked the larger American force. In mid-January 1944 the
112th Cavalry Regimental Combat Team was reinforced with additional
infantry and U.S. Marine Corps tanks, and launched a brief offensive
that pushed the Japanese back. The Japanese units withdrew from the area
towards the end of February as part of a general retreat from western
New Britain. There is no consensus among historians on whether the
Allied landing at Arawe was needed, with some arguing that it provided a
useful diversion while others judge that it formed part of an
unnecessary campaign.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arawe>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1256:
The Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran was
captured and destroyed by Hulagu Khan and the Mongols.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins>
1467:
Troops under Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the forces of
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in present-day Baia, Romania.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Baia>
1939:
The American historical epic film Gone With the Wind (poster
pictured), adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning novel of
the same name, made its premiere in Atlanta, Georgia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_with_the_Wind_(film)>
1973:
The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from
its official list of mental disorders, the DSM-II.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders>
1995:
The European Court of Justice handed down the Bosman ruling,
allowing footballers in the European Union to freely transfer from one
UEFA Federation to another at the end of their contracts.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosman_ruling>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
mango:
To remove the innards of, stuff (especially with spicy foods), seal and
pickle or pour boiling vinegar over (a fruit).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mango>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
 Belief has its structures, and its symbols change. Its
tradition changes. All the relationships within these forms are inter-
dependent. We look at the symbols, we hope to read them, we hope for
sharing and communication.
--Muriel Rukeyser
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Muriel_Rukeyser>