Operation Grandslam was an offensive undertaken by United Nations peacekeeping forces from 28 December 1962 to 15 January 1963 against the gendarmerie of the State of Katanga, which was rebelling against the Republic of the Congo in central Africa. Katanga's leader, Moïse Tshombe, repeatedly violated agreements he had made with the UN and the Congolese government. The UN Operation in the Congo became increasingly impatient towards Tshombe and drew up plans to resolve the situation through force. In December 1962 Katangese gendarmes attacked UN peacekeepers, and U Thant, Secretary-General of the UN, authorised an offensive. UN forces secured the Katangese capital, Élisabethville, and destroyed much of the Katangese Air Force in December 1962. In early January Indian peacekeepers exceeded their orders and crossed the Lufira River ahead of schedule, generating panic behind the Katangese lines. The Katangese forces were decisively defeated and Katanga was forcibly reintegrated into the Congo.

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

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1812:

War of 1812: In a three-hour single-ship action, HMS Java (drawing shown) was captured by USS Constitution off the coast of Brazil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Java_%281811%29

1876:

A railway bridge collapsed over the Ashtabula River in Ohio, killing 92 people and injuring 64 others on a Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway train. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtabula_River_railroad_disaster

1928:

The Northern Expedition, a military campaign by the National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang, ended with the complete control of the Republic of China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Expedition

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

reniform: 1. (chiefly biology, mineralogy) Synonym of kidney-shaped (“having an approximately circular or elongated ovoid shape with an inward curve or indentation on one side”) 2. (botany) Of a leaf: kidney-shaped, with the petiole attached at the notch. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/reniform

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Be unhoused, O my soul! Only the Infinite be your goal. Leave those myriad forms behind, Leave the million names that bind. A flash will pierce your heart and mind, And unhouse you, O my soul!   --Kuvempu https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Kuvempu