British anti-invasion preparations of World War II entailed a large scale programme of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The army needed to recover from the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force in France and one and a half million men were enrolled as part-time soldiers in the Home Guard. The rapid construction of field fortifications transformed much of Britain, especially southern England, into a prepared battlefield. Short of heavy weapons and equipment, the British had to make the best use of whatever was available. The German invasion plan, known to English speakers as Operation Sealion, was never taken beyond the preliminary assembly of forces stage. Today, very little remains of Britain's anti-invasion preparations. Only reinforced concrete structures such as pillboxes are common and even these have, until very recently, been unappreciated as historical monuments.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1301: The Árpád dynasty, who ruled in Hungary since the late 9th century, ended with the death of King Andrew III. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81rp%C3%A1d_dynasty)

1724: Philip V, the first Bourbon ruler of Spain, abdicated the throne to his eldest son Louis. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_V_of_Spain)

1761: The Afghans led by Ahmad Shah Abdali defeated the French-supplied and trained Maratha troops at the Third Battle of Panipat in Panipat, present-day Haryana, India. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Panipat_%281761%29)

1814: Sweden and Denmark–Norway signed the Treaty of Kiel, whereby Frederick VI of Denmark, a loser in the Napoleonic Wars, ceded Norway to Sweden in return for the Swedish holdings in Pomerania. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Kiel)

1939: Norway claimed Queen Maud Land in Antarctica as a dependent territory. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Maud_Land)

1952: Today, the world's first morning/breakfast television show, debuted on the American television network NBC. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Today_%28NBC_program%29)

2004: The national flag of Georgia, the so-called Five Cross Flag, was restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Georgia_%28country%29)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

teratoid: (genetics, medicine) Monster-like, exhibiting abnormal development. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/teratoid)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

At no time are we ever in such complete possession of a journey, down to its last nook and cranny, as when we are busy with preparations for it. After that, there remains only the journey itself, which is nothing but the process through which we lose our ownership of it. -- Yukio Mishima (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima)