The Battle of Verrières Ridge was part of the Battle of Normandy, in northwestern France, during the Second World War. Two Canadian infantry divisions—with additional support from the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade—fought elements of three German SS Panzer divisions. The battle began on 19 July 1944 as part of the British and Canadian attempts to break out of Caen. The immediate Allied objective was Verrières Ridge, a belt of high ground dominating the route from Caen to Falaise, which was invested by battle-hardened German veterans. Over six days, Canadian and British forces made repeated attempts to capture the ridge, with heavy Allied casualties for little strategic gain. The battle is remembered for its tactical and strategic miscalculations, including a controversial attack by The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada on 25 July, the costliest single day for a Canadian battalion since the 1942 Dieppe Raid.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Verri%C3%A8res_Ridge

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1843:

SS Great Britain, the first ocean-going ship that had both an iron hull and a screw propeller, was launched in Bristol, England. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Great_Britain

1903:

French cyclist Maurice Garin won the first Tour de France. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903_Tour_de_France

1989:

After suffering an uncontained failure of an engine which destroyed all of its hydraulic systems, United Airlines Flight 232 broke up during an emergency landing in Sioux City, Iowa, U.S., killing 111 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232

2014:

Unidentified gunmen perpetrated an armed assault against an Egyptian military checkpoint in the Libyan Desert, killing at least 22 border guards. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/July_2014_Al-Wadi_Al-Gedid_attack

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

crowd in on: (transitive, idiomatic) To join when not wanted; to force one's way into a situation where one is unwelcome. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/crowd_in_on

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Hell is that state where one has ceased to hope.   --A. J. Cronin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A._J._Cronin