Events 794 – Emperor Kanmu relocates the Japanese capital to Heian-kyō (now Kyoto). 906 – Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh leads a raid against the Byzantine Empire, taking 4,000-5,000 captives. 1383 – The male line of the Portuguese House of Burgundy becomes extinct with the death of King Fernando, leaving only his daughter Beatrice. Rival claimants begin… Read More
Introduction Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021) were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and support to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), within the central… Read More
Introduction Vasily Aleksandrovich Arkhipov (Russian: Василий Александрович Архипов, 30 January 1926 to 19 August 1998) was a Soviet Navy officer credited with preventing a Soviet nuclear strike (and, potentially, all-out nuclear war) during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Such an attack likely would have caused a major global thermonuclear response. As flotilla commander and second-in-command of… Read More
Events 1096 – A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fight off the People’s Crusade. 1097 – Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch. 1520 – Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as the Strait of Magellan. 1520 – João Álvares Fagundes discovers… Read More
Introduction United Nations Security Council Resolution 339 was adopted on 23 October 1973 in order to bring a ceasefire in the Yom Kippur War where Resolution 338 two days before had failed. Background The resolution primarily reaffirmed the terms outlined in Resolution 338 (itself based on Resolution 242), returning the forces of both sides back… Read More
Introduction Operation Gladio is the codename for clandestine “stay-behind” operations of armed resistance that were organised by the Western Union (WU), and subsequently by NATO and the CIA, in collaboration with several European intelligence agencies. The operation was designed for a potential Warsaw Pact invasion and conquest of Europe. Although Gladio specifically refers to the… Read More
Events 1568 – The Spanish Duke of Alba defeats a Dutch rebel force under William the Silent. 1572 – Eighty Years’ War: Three thousand Spanish soldiers wade through fifteen miles of water in one night to effect the relief of Goes. 1740 – France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony refuse to honour the Pragmatic Sanction, and… Read More
