Operation Camargue (1953) was one of the largest operations by the French Far East Expeditionary Corps and the Vietnamese National Army in the First Indochina War. French armored platoons, airborne units and troops, delivered by landing craft to the coast of modern-day central Vietnam, attempted to sweep forces of the communist Viet Minh from the critical Route One. On 28 July the first wave reached an inland canal without major incident, but French armored forces began to suffer a series of ambushes as they passed through small villages. Reinforced by paratroopers, the French and their Vietnamese allies tried to tighten a net around the defending Viet Minh guerillas, but most escaped, along with their arms caches. The French concluded that ensnaring operations were impossible in the dense jungle, which slowed down troops so that enemy forces could anticipate their movements, and they withdrew from the operation by late summer. Viet Minh Regiment 95 re-infiltrated Route One and resumed ambushes of French convoys, retrieving weapons caches missed by the French forces. The regiment continued to operate in the area as late as 1962, fighting the South Vietnamese Army.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1821:

Peruvian War of Independence: Argentine general José de San Martín declared the independence of Peru from Spain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_de_San_Mart%C3%ADn

1866:

At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream became the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue—that of Abraham Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinnie_Ream

1935:

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber aircraft, which dropped more bombs than any other U.S. aircraft in World War II, made its first flight. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_B-17_Flying_Fortress

1995:

Two followers of Osho (Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) were convicted for the attempted assassination of the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rajneeshee_assassination_plot

2005:

The Provisional Irish Republican Army announced an end to its armed campaign to overthrow British rule in Northern Ireland to create a United Ireland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

doula: A support person, usually female, who may not have medical or midwifery training, who provides emotional assistance to a mother or pregnant couple before, during or after childbirth. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doula

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

I want to say this one thing, it's been almost an obsession with me, all I keep thinking of is this line from a musical comedy... and the song he loved most came at the very end of this record, the last side of Camelot, sad Camelot... "Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."   --Jacqueline Kennedy https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jacqueline_Kennedy_Onassis