Sudirman (1916–50) was a high-ranking military officer during the Indonesian National Revolution. The first commander-in-chief of the Indonesian Armed Forces, he was declared a National Hero in 1964. A teacher when the Japanese occupied the Indies in 1942, he joined the Japanese-sponsored Defenders of the Homeland and oversaw the Japanese surrender in Banyumas after Indonesia proclaimed its independence. Elected commander-in-chief in November 1945, he ordered an assault on British and Dutch forces at Ambarawa, strengthening his popular support. During the next three years negotiations with the Dutch failed and in December 1948 the Dutch tried to capture Yogyakarta, the republican capital. While the political leadership sheltered, Sudirman led a small group of soldiers in a seven-month guerrilla campaign. When the Dutch began withdrawing, he wanted to continue fighting them but was forbidden. Sudirman retired because of illness and died soon after the Dutch recognised Indonesia's independence. His guerrilla campaign has been credited with developing the army's esprit de corps, and the 100-kilometre (62 mi) long route he took must be followed by Indonesian cadets before graduation.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudirman

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

41:

Cassius Chaerea and the disgruntled Praetorian Guards murdered Roman emperor Caligula (bust pictured), replacing him with his uncle Claudius. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula

1857:

The University of Calcutta, the first modern university in the Indian subcontinent, was established in Calcutta. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Calcutta

1900:

Second Boer War: Boer forces stopped a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Spion_Kop

1968:

Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launched Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Binh and Bien Hoa. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Coburg

2009:

Klaus, the most damaging storm since Lothar and Martin in December 1999, made landfall near Bordeaux, France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Klaus

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

alicorn: (now historical) The horn of a unicorn considered as a medical or pharmacological ingredient. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alicorn

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.   --Edith Wharton https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edith_Wharton