Operation Ten-Go was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific campaign of World War II. The Japanese battleship Yamato, the largest battleship in the world, along with nine other Japanese warships, sortied from Japan on an intentional one-way mission to attack the Allied forces that were invading Okinawa. The Japanese force was attacked, stopped, and almost completely destroyed before reaching Okinawa by U.S. carrier aircraft which sank Yamato and five other Japanese warships. The battle emphasized the aerial control that the U.S. had attained in the Pacific theater as well as the vulnerability of surface ships to aerial attack. The battle also apparently exhibited Japan's willingness to sacrifice large numbers of its people in desperate and suicidal tactics in an attempt to slow or stop the Allied advance on the Japanese homeland.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ten-Go

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

786: Harun al-Rashid became the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harun_al-Rashid)

1752: The British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar, skipping eleven days (September 2 was followed directly by September 14). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar)

1812: Napoleon's invasion of Russia: Napoleon and his Grande Armée captured Moscow, only to find the city deserted and burning. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow)

1959: The Soviet spacecraft Luna 2 crashed onto and became the first man-made object to reach the Moon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luna_2)

1960: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OPEC)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"The acceptance of the principle of international cooperation is of immense importance for all states. Even the states which are most tempted to believe that they can stand by themselves have very much to gain by such cooperation. And for the smaller states — the weaker states — it is vital to all their hopes of liberty and justice." -- Lord Robert Cecil (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Cecil% 2C_1st_Viscount_Cecil_of_Chelwood)