On 4 December 1893, the Shangani Patrol, comprising 34 soldiers of the British South Africa Company, was annihilated by over 3,000 Matabele warriors during the First Matabele War, in Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe). Major Patrick Forbes was attempting to capture the Matabele King Lobengula. A patrol, headed by Major Allan Wilson (pictured), was scouting ahead on the north side of the Shangani River. When Wilson's patrol moved in to capture Lobengula, it was ambushed by Matabele riflemen and warriors near the king's wagon. Surrounded and outnumbered about a hundred-fold, the patrol made a last stand as three of its number rode back to the river for reinforcements – without success as the Shangani was now in flood and Forbes was also involved in a skirmish. After fighting to the last cartridge, and killing over ten times their own number, Wilson and his men were annihilated. The patrol's members were regarded as national heroes for endeavour in the face of insurmountable odds. The anniversary of the battle became an annual public holiday in Rhodesia in 1895, and was an official non-work day until 1920. A film depicting the episode, Shangani Patrol, was released in 1970.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shangani_Patrol
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1241:
First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelmed the Polish armies of Sandomierz and Kraków provinces in the Battle of Chmielnik and plundered the abandoned city of Kraków. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chmielnik
1871:
French President Adolphe Thiers ordered the evacuation of Paris after an uprising broke out as the result of France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, leading to the establishment of the Paris Commune government. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Commune
1906:
Romanian inventor Traian Vuia became the first person to fly a heavier-than-air monoplane with an unassisted takeoff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traian_Vuia
1970:
United States postal workers began a two-week strike after Congress raised its own wages by 41% but only raised the wages of postal workers by 4%. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._postal_strike_of_1970
1996:
The deadliest fire in Philippine history burned a nightclub in Quezon City, leaving 162 dead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_Disco_Club_fire
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
tribology: (physics, engineering) The science and technology of friction, lubrication, and wear. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tribology
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
From infancy on, we are all spies; the shame is not this but that the secrets to be discovered are so paltry and few. --John Updike https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Updike
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