The Warsaw Uprising was an armed struggle during the Second World War
by the Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from German
occupation and Nazi rule. It started on 1944-08-01 as a part of a
nationwide uprising, Operation Tempest. The Polish troops resisted the
German-led forces until October 2. An estimated 85% of the city was
destroyed during the urban guerrilla war and after the end of
hostilities. The Uprising started at a crucial point in the war as the
Soviet army was approaching Warsaw. Although the Soviet army was within
a few hundred metres of the city from September 16 onward, the link
between the uprising and the advancing army was never made. This failure
and the reasons behind it have been a matter of controversy ever since.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising
Today's selected anniversaries:
* 1522 - The Victoria, carrying Juan Sebastián Elcano and 17 survivors
of Ferdinand Magellan's 265-man expedition, returned to Sanlúcar
de Barrameda, Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate
the globe.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Sebasti%E1n_Elcano)
* 1901 - U.S. President William McKinley is fatally wounded by anarchist
Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McKinley)
* 1972 - Munich Massacre : Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by
terrorists known as 'Black September' at the Olympic Games.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_Massacre)
* 1995 - Baltimore Oriole shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. played his 2131st
consecutive professional baseball games, breaking the 56-year old
record set by New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gehrig.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Ripken_Jr.)
Wikiquote of the day:
"Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you
have received." -- Seneca
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Seneca)