From 1345 to 1347, the Hundred Years' War between the English and the
French flared up. Determined to renew the conflict, King Edward III of England despatched a small force to south-west France where they won victories at Bergerac and Auberoche. In 1346 an English army of 10,000 men landed in northern Normandy, devastated the region, and stormed and sacked Caen (pictured). They then cut a swath to within 20 miles (32 km) of Paris, turned north, and inflicted a heavy defeat on the French army at the Battle of Crécy. They exploited this by laying siege to Calais. The period from the English victory outside Bergerac to the start of the siege of Calais is known as Edward III's annus mirabilis (year of marvels). After an eleven-month siege, which stretched both countries' financial and military resources to the limit, the town fell, and for more than two hundred years it served as an English entrepôt into northern France. (This article is part of a featured topic: Hundred Years' War, 1345–1347.).
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Featured_topics/Hundred_Years%27_War,_1345%E2%80%931347
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1811:
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (depicted), a leader of the Mexican War of Independence, was executed by Spanish forces in Chihuahua City, Mexico. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_Hidalgo_y_Costilla
1871:
The boiler of the Staten Island Ferry Westfield II exploded at South Ferry in New York City, killing at least 45 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staten_Island_Ferry
1990:
British Conservative member of Parliament Ian Gow was killed outside his home in a car bombing by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Gow
2014:
More than 150 people died after heavy rains triggered a landslide in the village of Malin in Maharashtra, India. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Malin_landslide
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
pavement special: (slang) A dog (especially a stray dog) of miscellaneous ancestry; a mongrel, a mutt. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pavement_special
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
How I'm moved. How you move me With your beauty's potency. --Kate Bush https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kate_Bush