The Military History Thread

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May 31, 1645
Storming of Leicester

In the spring of 1645, the Committee for Both Kingdoms ordered Sir Thomas Fairfax, Captain-General of the recently-formed New Model Army, to march to relieve the siege of Taunton. Fairfax marched from Windsor on 30 April 1645 to rendezvous at Newbury with Lieutenant-General Cromwell, who was active with a cavalry brigade around Oxford, raiding Royalist garrisons and rounding up all the draught animals he could find in order to immobilize the King's artillery train. From Newbury, Fairfax advanced towards Blandford, where he arrived on 7 May, while Cromwell remained in the vicinity of Oxford.

On the day that Fairfax arrived at Blandford, the King's army marched from Oxford to rendezvous with Prince Rupert and Lord Goring at Stow-on-the-Wold, where a council of war was held on 8 May. The Royalist high command was divided over strategy. King Charles wanted to march the main Royalist army into Scotland to join forces with Montrose; Prince Rupert and Sir Marmaduke Langdale were eager to relieve the siege of Chester and to strike against Lord Leven's Covenanters in the hope of regaining Yorkshire and the north of England; Lord Goring and Lord Digby wanted to concentrate Royalist forces in the west to challenge Fairfax and the New Model Army before it had time to establish itself. King Charles finally decided on a compromise that divided his forces. Lord Goring rode with three thousand cavalry to the west, while the King and Prince Rupert marched north with the main body of the Royalist army.

Even without the additional threat of Goring's cavalry, the condition of the garrison at Taunton was desperate. By 9 May, the besieging Royalists had captured the town and forced the garrison to retreat into the castle. However, the Committee for Both Kingdoms abruptly ordered Fairfax to abandon the march into the west. A detachment was to be sent to Taunton while the main body of the New Model Army was ordered to turn north and attack the Royalist capital at Oxford. Fairfax continued his march as far as Dorchester before sending four regiments of foot and one of horse on to Taunton. Convinced by Fairfax's feint that the whole New Model Army was on its way, Sir Richard Grenville ordered the Royalists to withdraw on 11 May and Welden's detachment occupied the town. Despite the reinforcement of the garrison, however, Lord Goring's return to the region meant that Taunton remained under threat.

Meanwhile, the King's army continued to march northwards, shadowed by Cromwell's cavalry and some infantry under the command of Major-General Richard Browne. Threatened by the King's advance, Sir William Brereton abandoned the siege of Chester on 18 May. Two days later, Lord Byron met the King at Market Drayton in Shropshire with news of the abandonment of the siege. The Royalist army turned eastwards towards Newark, with the probable intention of marching from there into Yorkshire. In London, this move was interpreted as an advance towards the Eastern Association counties and Cromwell was ordered to East Anglia to organize its defenses against a possible Royalist invasion.

Further south, Fairfax and the main body of the New Model Army arrived before Oxford on 22 May. With the Royalist capital under siege, the King's march to the north was abandoned. Lord Goring was ordered to bring reinforcements to the main Royalist army, while the Committee for Both Kingdoms ordered Colonel Massie at Gloucester to keep Goring occupied in the west. Massie stormed and captured Evesham on 26 May to disrupt supply lines and communications between Oxford and Worcester; Goring apparently made no attempt to rejoin the King's army. Anxious that Oxford should not fall, the King and Prince Rupert decided to attack the Parliamentarian stronghold of Leicester, in the hope of luring the New Model Army away from Oxford.

Sir Marmaduke Langdale's Northern Horse surrounded Leicester on 29 May, cutting off all approaches to the town. A Royalist battery was set up on Raw Dykes, the derelict banks of a Roman aqueduct to the south. Prince Rupert issued a summons to surrender around noon on 30 May. Some three hours later, a messenger was sent out from the town to request a delay of one day before replying to the summons. The defenders hoped to gain time in order to complete the construction of earthworks to strengthen Leicester's Roman and medieval walls but the request breached the terms of the summons, which prompted Rupert to order the bombardment to begin immediately.

The Royalist artillery concentrated on the Newark ("new work"), a section of the town wall next to Leicester Castle. By six o'clock a breach had been made. That night, Rupert launched an assault from three directions at once. George Lisle led the main force, which stormed the breach on the south side. Sir Henry Bard and Sir Bernard Astley led two smaller storming parties with scaling ladders against the north and east gates. Three assaults on the Newark were repulsed with heavy loss but the resistance faltered when Bard and Astley forced their way into the town. The gates were thrown open and the Royalist cavalry charged in. The defenders continued to resist, fighting street by street and making a last stand in the market square before finally throwing down their weapons. Exasperated by the town's resistance even after the walls were breached, Rupert and his officers made no attempt to restrain the Royalist troops from sacking Leicester. Although severe, comparisons made in London newsbooks to the terrible sack of Magdeburg during the Thirty Years War were greatly exaggerated. Up to twenty-five thousand people were massacred at Magdeburg; around three hundred defenders were killed in the storming and sack of Leicester; the Royalists lost around four hundred men.

The fall of Leicester galvanized the Committee for Both Kingdoms. Still fearing that the Royalists intended to invade East Anglia, the Committee ordered General Fairfax to abandon the siege of Oxford and to march the New Model Army into the Midlands to engage the King's army. Under pressure from Independents in Parliament, the Committee authorized Fairfax to act on his own initiative rather than having to wait for further orders from Westminster. At the request of Fairfax and his officers, Oliver Cromwell was officially appointed Lieutenant-General of Horse, even though this appointment contravened the Self-Denying Ordinance (forbidding MP’s to hold a military command). The New Model Army advanced rapidly northwards. On June 14, the armies met at the decisive Battle of Naseby.

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June 1, 1215
Genghis Khan Sacks Peking

In 1210, a delegation arrived at the court of Genghis Khan to proclaim the ascension of a new Jin Emperor to the Jurchen throne and demanded the submission of the Mongols as a vassal state. Because the Jurchens defeated some tribes of powerful steppe nomads and allied with the Keraits and the Tatars, they claimed sovereignty over all the tribes of the steppe. Upon receiving the order to make submission, Genghis is reported to have turned to the south and spat on the ground; then he mounted his horse, and rode toward the north. His defiance of the Jin envoys was tantamount to a declaration of war between the Mongol and the Jurchens.

When the Mongols invaded the Jin in 1211, Ala 'Qush, the chief of the Ongut, supported Genghis Khan and showed him a safe road to the heart of Jin. The first important battle was the Battle of Fox Hill. The commander of the Jin Dynasty army made a tactical mistake in not attacking the Mongolians at the first opportunity. Instead, the Jin commander sent a messenger, Ming-Tan, to the Mongol side, who promptly defected and told the Mongols that the Jin army was waiting on the other side of the pass. At this engagement the Mongols massacred thousands of Jin troops. Mongolians learned at an early age to always fight on the move. They would pass through towns to draw their opponent away from their animals. When they are separated and when they fell for the Mongolian army's trap, they would kill the enemy and take their animals. While Genghis headed southward, his general Chepe traveled even further east into Manchuria and captured Mukden. However, the Khan was wounded by an arrow on his knee in 1212, but the Khitan leader Liu-ke declared his allegiance to Genghis and freed Manchuria from the Jin.

When the Mongolian army besieged Peking in 1213, Li Ying, Li Xiong and a few other Jin generals assembled a militia of more than 10,000 men who inflicted several defeats on the Mongols. The Mongols soon recovered and smashed the Jin armies, each numbering in the tens of thousands, and broke through Juyongguan Pass and Zijingkou Gap by November 1213. From 1213 through spring 1214, the Mongolians pillaged the entire North China plain. In 1214, Genghis Khan surrounded the Court of the Golden Khan in Peking. The Jin general Heishilie Hushahu had murdered the emperor Wanyan Yongji and enthroned his nephew Wanyang Xun.

The Mongolians besieged the capital, Peking and the Jin temporarily agreed to become tributary of the Mongolians, presenting a Jin princess to Genghis Khan. But when the Mongols withdrew in 1214, believing the war was over after being given a large tribute by the Jin, Li Ying wanted to ambush them on the way with his forces (which had grown to several tens of thousands). However, the Jin emperor was afraid of offending the Mongols again and stopped him. But he renounced his tributary status.

The Mongols returned to the siege of Peking and finally took the city on June 1, 1215, massacring its inhabitants. This forced the Jin Emperor Xuanzong to move his capital south to Kaifeng, and opened the Yellow River valley to further Mongol ravages. From then on, the Jin were strictly on the defensive. The conquest of the Jin was completed in 1234.

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June 2, 1866
Fenian Invasion of Canada – Battle of Ridgeway

The Fenian Brotherhood was an Irish republican organization founded in the United States in 1858. It was a precursor to Clan na Gael, a sister organization to the Irish Republican Brotherhood. Members were commonly known as "Fenians" (after the Fianna, a legendary band of Irish warriors).

By 1866, the Fenians had split into two factions, with the original faction focused more on fundraising for rebels in Ireland. The leaders of the more militant "senate faction" led by William R. Roberts believed that even a marginally successful invasion of the Province of Canada or other parts of British North America would provide them with leverage in their efforts. After an April attempt to raid Campobello Island, New Brunswick failed, the senate faction Fenians implemented their own plan for an invasion of Canada. The plan drafted by the senate "Secretary for War" General T. W. Sweeny, a distinguished former Union Army officer, called for multiple Fenian invasions at points in Canada West (now southern Ontario) and Canada East (now southern Quebec) intended to cut off Canada West.. Key to the plan was a diversionary attack at Fort Erie from Buffalo, New York, meant to draw troops away from Toronto in a feigned strike at the nearby Welland Canal system. This would be the only Fenian attack, other than the Quebec raid several days later, that would be actually launched in June 1866.

Approximately 1200 Fenians crossed the Niagara River in the first 14 hours of June 1 under Colonel John O'Neill. Sabotaged by Fenians in its crew, the U.S. Navy's side-wheeler gunboat USS Michigan did not begin intercepting Fenian reinforcements until 2:15 p.m.—fourteen hours after the advance party had first crossed the river. Once the Michigan was deployed, O'Neill's force in the Niagara Region was cut off from further supplies and reinforcements.

After assembling with other units from the province and traveling all night, the Canadian militia advanced into a well-laid ambush by approximately 700 Fenians the next morning north of Ridgeway, a small hamlet west of Fort Erie.

The Canadian militia consisted of inexperienced volunteers with no more than basic drill training and primarily armed with Enfield rifled muskets comparable to the armaments of the Fenians. A single company of the Queen's Own Rifles of Toronto had been armed the day before on their ferry crossing from Toronto with state-of-the-art Spencer repeating rifles, but had never been given the opportunity to practice with them and were issued with only 28 rounds. The Fenian forces were mostly battle-hardened American Civil War veterans, armed with weapons procured from leftover war munitions, also Enfield rifled muskets or the comparable Springfield.

The two forces exchanged volleys for about two hours before a series of command errors threw the Canadians into confusion, which the Fenians took advantage of by launching a bayonet charge that broke the inexperienced Canadian ranks. Seven Canadians were killed on the battlefield, two died shortly afterwards from wounds, and four would later die of wounds and disease while on service and ninety-four were wounded or disabled by disease. The Fenians lost eight killed and sixteen wounded.

After the clash, the Canadians retreated to Port Colborne at the Lake Erie end of the Welland Canal, while the Fenians rested at Ridgeway briefly before themselves returning to Fort Erie. Another battle followed there that saw several Canadians severely wounded and the surrender of a group of local Canadian militia that had moved into the Fenian rear. But after considering the inability of reinforcements to cross the river and the approach of large numbers of both militia and British regulars, the remaining Fenians chose to release the Canadian prisoners and return to Buffalo early in the morning of June 3. They were intercepted by the Michigan, and surrendered to American naval personnel.

President Andrew Johnson's proclamation requiring enforcement of the laws of neutrality was issued five days after the beginning of the invasion, guaranteeing that it would not continue. Both Ulysses S. Grant and George Meade went to Buffalo, New York to assess the situation. In the meantime, following instructions from General Grant, General Meade issued strict orders to prevent anyone from further violating the border. Grant then proceeded to St. Louis while Meade, finding that the battle at Ridgeway was over and the Fenian army interned in Buffalo, proceeded to Ogdensburg, New York, to oversee the situation in the St. Lawrence River area. The U.S. Army was then instructed to seize Fenian weapons and ammunition, and to prevent more border crossings. Further instructions on 7 June 1866 were to arrest anyone who looked like they might be a Fenian.

After the invasion of Canada West failed and the U.S. government began to impede Fenian efforts, the Fenians decided to concentrate their efforts on Canada East. On June 7, Samuel Spear and his 1000 men marched into Canadian territory, occupying Pigeon Hill, Frelighsburg, St. Armand and Stanbridge. At this point the Canadian government had done little to defend the border, but on June 8 Canadian forces arrived and the Fenians, who were low on arms, ammunition and supplies, promptly surrendered, ending the raid on Canada East.

Ironically, although they did not do much to advance the cause of Irish independence, the 1866 raids and the inept efforts of Canadian colonial troops to repulse them helped to galvanize support for the Confederation of Canada in 1867. Some historians have argued that the debacle tipped the final votes of the reluctant Maritime provinces in favor of the collective security of nationhood, making Ridgeway the “battle that made Canada.”

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June 3, 1861
The Philippi Races

After the commencement of hostilities in April 1861, Maj. Gen. George McClellan returned to the Army and on May 13 assumed command of the Department of the Ohio, headquartered in Cincinnati. McClellan planned an offensive into what is now the State of West Virginia (at the time the northwestern counties of the Commonwealth of Virginia) which he hoped would lead to a campaign against Richmond. His immediate objectives were to occupy the territory to protect the largely pro-Union populace in the counties along the Ohio River, and to keep open the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad line, a critical supply line for the Union.

On May 26, McClellan, in response to the burning of bridges on the Baltimore & Ohio, ordered the (Union) 1st Virginia Infantry to advance from Wheeling to safeguard the important bridge over the Monongahela River at Fairmont, a distance of about 70 miles southeast of Wheeling. After securing Fairmont, the 1st Virginia advanced again and seized the important railroad junction of Grafton, about 15 miles southeast of Fairmont, on May 30.

Meanwhile, the 14th Ohio Infantry Regiment was ordered to occupy Parkersburg and then proceed to Grafton, about 90 miles to the east. By May 28, McClellan had ordered a total of about 3,000 troops into Western Virginia and placed them under the overall command of Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Morris, commander of Indiana Volunteers.

On May 4 Confederate Col. George A. Porterfield had been assigned command of the state forces in northwestern Virginia and ordered to Grafton to take charge of enlistments in the area. As the Union columns advanced, Porterfield's poorly armed 800 recruits retreated to Philippi, about 17 miles south of Grafton. At Philippi, a covered bridge spanned the Tygart Valley River and was an important segment of the vital Beverly-Fairmont Turnpike.

Col. Benjamin Kelley of the 1st Virginia devised a two-prong attack against the Confederate force in Philippi, approved by Gen. Morris on his arrival in Grafton on June 1. The principal advance would be 1,600 men led by Kelley himself. In order to deceive the enemy into thinking the objective was Harpers Ferry, they departed by train to the east. They disembarked at the small village of Thornton and marched south on a back road on the same side of the river as Philippi, intending to arrive at the rear of the town.

A second column, with a total of 1,400 men under Col. Ebenezer Dumont (7th Indiana), would march directly south from Webster on the Turnpike. In this way, the Union force would execute a double envelopment of the outnumbered Confederates.

On June 2, the Union columns set off to converge on Philippi. After an overnight march in rainy weather, both arrived at Philippi before dawn the following morning. Morris had planned a predawn assault to be signaled by a pistol shot. The green Confederate volunteers had failed to establish picket lines for perimeter security, choosing instead to escape the cold rain and stay inside their tents. A Confederate sympathizer, Mrs. Thomas Humphreys, saw the approaching Union troops and sent her young son on horseback to warn the Confederates. As Mrs. Humphreys watched, she saw Union pickets capture her son and fired her pistol at them. She missed, but her shots began the attack prematurely.

The Union attackers began firing their artillery, which awakened the Confederates. Those who were armed fired a few shots at the advancing bluecoats, then they broke and began running to the south, some still in their bed clothes. This caused Union journalists to refer to the battle as the "Races at Philippi". Dumont's soldiers entered the town from the bridge, but Kelley's column had arrived from the north on the wrong road and were unable to block the Confederate retreat. Kelley himself was shot while pursing some of the retreating Confederates. The rebels retreated to Huttonsville, about 45 miles to the south.

The Union victory in the relatively bloodless battle (4 Union and 26 CSA casualties) propelled McClellan into the national spotlight, and he was soon given command of all Union armies. It also inspired more vocal protests in the Western part of Virginia against secession. A few days later, pro-Unionists at the Wheeling Convention nullified the Virginia ordinance of secession. The area became the state of West Virginia in 1863.

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June 4, 1615
Fall of Osaka Castle

When Toyotomi Hideyoshi died in 1598, Japan came to be governed by the Council of Five Elders, among whom Tokugawa Ieyasu possessed the most authority. After defeating Ishida Mitsunari in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu essentially seized control of Japan for himself, and abolished the Council. In 1603, the Tokugawa shogunate was established, with its capital at Edo. Ieyasu sought to establish a powerful and stable regime under the rule of his own clan; only the Toyotomi, led by Hideyoshi's son Toyotomi Hideyori and based at Osaka, remained as an obstacle to that goal.

In 1614, the Toyotomi clan rebuilt Osaka Castle. At the same time, the head of the clan sponsored the rebuilding of Hoko-ji in Kyoto. These temple renovations included the casting a great bronze bell, with inscriptions that read "May the state be peaceful and prosperous" and "May noble lord and servants be rich and cheerful". The shogunate chose to interpret the inscriptions to mean "Toyotomi's force will rise again," which meant treachery against the shogunate. Tensions began to grow between the Tokugawa and the Toyotomi clans, and only increased when Toyotomi Hideyori began to gather a force of ronin and enemies of the shogunate in Osaka. By November of that year, Ieyasu, despite having passed the title of Shogun on to his son in 1605, nevertheless maintained significant influence, and decided not to let this force grow any larger, leading 164,000 men to Osaka.

The siege was begun on November 19, when Ieyasu led three thousand men across the Kizu River, destroying the fort there. A week later, he attacked the village of Imafuku with 1,500 men, against a defending force of 600. With the aid of a force or arquebusiers, the shogunate forces claimed another victory. Several more small forts and villages were attacked before the siege on Osaka Castle itself began on December 4.

The Sanada-maru was an earthwork barbican defended by Sanada
Yukimura and 7,000 men, on behalf of the Toyotomi. The Shogun's armies were repeatedly repelled, and Sanada and his men launched a number of attacks against the siege lines, breaking through three times. Ieyasu then resorted to artillery (including 17 imported European cannons and 300 domestic wrought iron cannons) as well as men to dig under the walls. On January 22, the Winter Siege was ended, with Toyotomi Hideyori pledging to not rise in rebellion. The walls of the outer layer defenses were torn down, and the outer moat of Osaka castle was allowed to be filled in.

In April 1615, Ieyasu received word that Toyotomi Hideyori was gathering even more troops than in the previous November, and that he was trying to stop the filling of the moat. Toyotomi forces (often called the Western Army) began to attack contingents of the Shogun's forces (the Eastern Army) near Osaka, raiding Wakayama Castle, a coastal fortress belonging to Asano Nagaakira, an ally of the Shogun, on April 29. Asano's men sallied forth from the castle, attacking the invaders, and driving them off. By early June, the Eastern army had arrived, before Hideyori managed to secure any land to use against them. At the Battle of Dōmyōji, on June 2, 2,600 of his men encountered 23,000 of the Eastern Army. Hideyori's commander attempted to retreat into the fog, but the battle was lost and he was killed. After this, Tokugawa forces intercepted those of Toyotomi general Sanada Yukimura at Honta-Ryo. Sanada tried to force a battle with Date Masamune, but Date retainer Katakura Shigenaga retreated since his troops were exhausted; Sanada's forces followed suit.

After another series of shogunate victories on the outskirts of Osaka, the Summer Campaign came to a head at the Battle of Tenno-ji. Hideyori planned a hammer-and-anvil operation, in which 55,000 men would attack the center of the Eastern Army, while a second force, of 16,500 men, would flank them from the rear. Another contingent waited in reserve. Ieyasu's army was led by his son, the Shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, and numbered around 155,000. They moved in four parallel lines, prepared to make flanking maneuvers of their own. Mistakes on both sides nearly ruined the battle, as Hideyori's ronin split off from the main group, and Hidetada's reserve force moved up without orders from the main force. In the end, however, Hideyori's commander Sanada Yukimura was killed, destroying the morale of the Western Army. The smaller force led directly by Hideyori sallied forth from Osaka Castle too late, and was chased right back into the castle by the advancing enemies; there was no time to set up a proper defense of the castle, and it was soon ablaze and pummeled by artillery fire. Hideyori committed seppuku, and the final major uprising against Tokugawa rule was put to an end, leaving the shogunate unchallenged for approximately 250 years.

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June 5, 1984
The Indian Army Attacks the Golden Temple

Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to eliminate Sikh fundamentalist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Bhindranwale was accused of amassing weapons in the Sikh temple and starting a major armed uprising. These reasons are contested by most Sikh scholars who claim that Akal Takhat (the Golden Temple) is a temporal seat and keeping weapons in temples is well within the precincts of Sikhism. Some say that Indira Gandhi attacked to present herself as a great hero in order to win forthcoming elections.

The operation had two components: Operation Metal, confined to Golden Temple complex, and Operation Shop, which raided the Punjabi countryside to capture any suspects. Following it, a complementary operation was launched code-named Operation Woodrose for thoroughly scanning the Punjab countryside to round up any suspects.

Indira Gandhi first asked Lt. Gen. S. K. Sinha, then Vice-Chief of Indian Army and who was to succeed as the Army chief, to prepare a position paper for an assault. Sinha advised against any such move, given its sacrilegious nature according to Sikh tradition. He suggested the government adopt an alternative solution. A controversial decision was made to replace him with General Arun Shridhar Vaidya as the Chief of the Indian Army. General Vaidya planned and coordinated Operation Blue Star.

On June 1, police began exchanges of fire with the Temple complex. On 3 June, a 36-hour curfew was imposed on the state of Punjab with all methods of communication and public travel suspended. Electricity supplies were also interrupted, creating a total blackout and cutting off the state from the rest of India and the world. Complete censorship was enforced on the news media.

On June 4, the army started bombarding the historic Ramgarhia Bungas, the water tank, and other fortified positions. The army used the venerable QF 25 pounder and achieved the objective of destroying outer defenses. The besiegers then placed tanks and APCs on the road. About 100 died in pitched battles on both sides.

Nearly 50,000 Sikhs gathered in the Golewal village about 25 km from Amritsar to fight the army, 30,000 converged from the side of Batala in Gurdaspur district and about 20,000 Sikhs gathered at Chauk Mehta. Another group of about 20,000 were marching from the side of Harik Patan at confluence of the rivers Sutlej and Beas. Army helicopters spotted the massive movements. General K. Sunderji sent tanks and APCs. Hundreds of Sikhs were killed at the rendezvous.

In the morning of June 5, shelling started on the building inside the Golden Temple complex. Troops of 9th Infantry Division launched a frontal attack; however, they ware unable to secure the complex.

Late in the evening, the generals decided to launch a simultaneous attack from three sides. Commandos from the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment would attack from the main entrance of the complex, the 10th Battalion of the Guards from the northern entrance, and Madras and Garhwal battalions from the hostel complex side entrance.

As the commandos entered the temple they were pinned down by light machine-gun fire from both sides of the steps/staircase. The few commandos who did get down the steps were driven back by a barrage of fire from the building on the south side of the sacred pool, forcing them to fall back, and thus they ultimately failed to reach the pavement around the Sacred Pool.

A second attempt by the Guards and the Commandos managed to reach the pavement around the Pool; however they came under heavy fire from all sides. Crawling was impossible as defenders had placed light machine guns nine or ten inches above the ground. This attempt caused many casualties among the Indian troops.

A third attempt to gain the Pool was made by a squad of 200 troops from both the Commandos and the Guards. On the southern side, the Madras and Garhwal Battalions were not able to make it to the pavement around the pool because they were engaged by positions on the southern side.

Despite the mounting casualties, General Sunderji ordered a fourth assault by the Commandos. This time the Madras Battalion was reinforced with two more companies of the 7th Garhwal Rifles. However, the Madras and Garhwal troops once again failed to report any successful movement towards the pool.

Brigadier Diwan reported heavy casualties and requested more reinforcements. General Brar sent two companies of the Kumaon Regiment. This resulted in yet more heavy casualties, forcing Brigadier Diwan to request tank support. Brar also requested tank support after an APC was destroyed by a rocket fired by a Sikh militant. His request was granted and seven Vijayanta tanks committed.

By 0500 June 6, due to the 105mm shells of the tanks, the Akal Takhat was heavily damaged. However, the primary objective of removing militants from other neighboring structures continued for a further 24 hours. By the morning of the 7th, the army was in effective control of the complex.

An Indian White Paper placed army casualties at 83 dead and 249 wounded with 493 militants killed and 1592 arrested. The use of artillery in the congested inner city of Amritsar proved deadly to many civilian bystanders living near the Golden Temple. The media blackout throughout the Punjab resulted in widespread doubt regarding the official stories and aided the promotion of hearsay and rumor.

At least 4000 Sikh soldiers mutinied at different locations in India in protest, with some reports of large-scale pitched battles being fought to bring mutineers under control.

The operation also led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 31 October 1984 by two of her Sikh bodyguards, triggering anti-Sikh riots, killing over 3000 Sikhs. The widespread killing of Sikhs, principally in the national capital Delhi but also in other major cities in North India, led to major divisions between the Sikh community and the Indian Government. The army withdrew from the Golden Temple later in 1984 under pressure from Sikh demands.

[richardoe]

And Amritsar was the site of a massacre in 1919 that IMHO marked the beginning of the end of British rule in India.

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June 6, 1762
British Expedition to Havana

When Spain joined the Seven Years War plans were made in Great Britain for an amphibious attack on Havana. The expedition was under the command of George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle, with Vice-Admiral Sir George Pocock as naval commander. This plan also called for Jeffrey Amherst to embark 4,000 men from America to join Keppel and to assemble another force of 8,000 men for an attack on Louisiana. An expedition sailed from Spithead on March 5.

On May 23 the expedition, now off the northwest corner of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), was further reinforced by Douglas' squadron from Jamaica. The force under Albemarle now amounted to 21 ships of the line, 24 lesser warships, and 168 other vessels, carrying some 14,000 seamen and marines plus another 3,000 hired sailors and 12,826 regulars.

By the time of the siege, the defenders had been reduced by yellow fever to 3,850 soldiers, 5,000 sailors and marines and 2,800 militia. There were 9 ships of the line in the naval force.

Havana had one of the finest harbors in the West Indies. It could easily accommodate up to 100 ships of the line. A 200 yd. wide entrance channel gave access to the harbor, and the important shipyards. Two strong fortresses defended the entrance channel; on the north side of the channel stood the very strong Morro Castle with 64 heavy guns and a garrison of 700 men. The south side was defended by the Punta Castle. The channel could also be blocked by a boom chain extending from El Morro to La Punta. Havana itself lay on the south side along the channel and was surrounded by a wall 3.1 mi. long.

On June 6 the British force came into sight of Havana. Immediately, 12 British ships of the line were sent to the mouth of the entrance channel to block in the Spanish fleet. The British planned to begin the operations by the reduction of the Morro fortress, on the north side of the channel, through a formal Vauban-style siege. The commanding position of this fort over the city would then force the Spanish commander to surrender. However, this plan did not take into account the fact that the fortress was located on a rocky promontory where it was impossible to dig approach trenches and that a large ditch cut into the rock protected the fort on the land side.

The Spanish, surprised by the size of the attacking force, adopted a delaying defensive strategy, hoping for a relief force or for an epidemic of yellow fever among the besiegers or for a hurricane to wreck the British fleet. Accordingly, the Spanish fleet was kept in the harbor while its sailors, gunners and marines were sent to garrison the fortresses of Morro and Punta which were placed under the command of naval officers. Most of the shot and powder of the fleet as well as its best guns were also transferred to these two fortresses. Meanwhile, regular troops were assigned to the defense of the city. The channel entrance was closed with the boom chain. Furthermore, 3 ships of the line were selected among the fleet for their poor condition and sunk behind the boom chain. Realizing the importance of the Morro, the Spanish commanders gave it top priority.

On June 7 the British troops were landed northeast of Havana, and began advancing west the next day. They met a militia party that was easily pushed back. By the end of the day, British infantry had reached the vicinity of Havana.

On June 11 a British party stormed a detached redoubt on the Cavannos heights. Only then did the British command realize how strong the Morro was, surrounded by brushwood and protected by a large ditch. With the arrival of their siege train the next day, the British began erecting batteries among the trees on La Cabana hill overlooking the Morro as well as the city and the bay. Surprisingly, this hill had been left undefended by the Spanish despite its well known strategic importance.

On June 13 a British detachment landed at Torreón de la Chorrera, on the south side of the harbor. Meanwhile, Colonel Patrick Mackellar, an engineer, was overseeing the construction of the siege works against the Morro. Since digging trenches was impossible, he resolved to erect breastworks instead. He planned to mine towards a bastion of the Morro once his siege works would have reached the ditch and to create a runway across this ditch with the rubble produced by his mining activities.

On June 22, 4 British batteries totaling 12 heavy guns and 38 mortars opened fire on the Morro from La Cabana. Mackellar gradually advanced his breastworks towards the ditch under cover of these batteries. By the 29th, the British batteries had increased their daily direct hits on the Morro to 500 and the defenders were losing as many as 30 men each day, and the workload of repairing the fortress every night was so exhausting that men had to be rotated into the fort from the city every three days. At dawn on 29 June 988 Spaniards attacked the siege works. They reached the British batteries from the rear and started to spike guns, but British reaction was swift, and the attackers were repulsed before they caused any serious damage.

On July 1, the British launched a combined land and naval attack on the Morro. The fleet detached 4 ships of the line for this purpose. The naval and land artilleries simultaneously opened fire on the Morro. However, naval guns were ineffective, the fort being located too high. Counter-fire from 30 guns of the Morro inflicted 192 casualties and seriously damaged the ships, three of which later sank, forcing them to withdraw. Meanwhile, the bombardment by the land artillery was far more effective. By the end of the day, only 3 Spanish guns were still effective on the side of the Morro facing the British batteries.

On July 2, the British breastworks around the Morro caught fire and the batteries were burned down, destroying the product of much of the work undertaken since mid June. The Spanish capitalized on this event, remounting many guns and repairing breaches in the fortifications of the Morro.

Since its arrival at Havana, the British army had heavily suffered from yellow fever. It was now at half strength. Since the hurricane season was approaching, Albemarle was now engaged in a race against time. He ordered the batteries to be rebuilt with the help of men of the fleet. Many 32-pdrs were taken from the lower deck of several ships to equip these new batteries.

By July 17 the new British batteries had progressively silenced most defending guns, leaving only two of them operational. With the absence of artillery cover, it now became impossible for the Spanish troops to repair the damage being inflicted on the Morro. Mackellar was also able to resume construction of siege works to approach the fortress. With the army in such a bad condition, work progressed rather slowly. All hope of the British army now resided in the expected arrival of reinforcements from North America.

On 20 July the progress of siege works allowed the British to begin the mining towards the right bastion of the Morro. Meanwhile, the now unopposed British artillery was daily hitting the Morro up to 600 times, causing some 60 casualties. There was now no hope but to destroy British siege works. At 4 am on July 22, 1300 regulars, seamen and militia sallied from Havana in three columns and attacked the siege works surrounding the Morro. The sortie did not succeed and the siege works were left relatively intact.

On July 27, the reinforcements from North America finally arrived. During their journey, they had been attacked by the French, who captured some 500 men.

On July 29, the mine near the right bastion of the Morro fort was completed and ready to explode. Albemarle vainly feigned an assault, hoping that the defenders would finally decide to surrender. On the contrary, they launched a desperate attack from the sea on the British miners in the ditch. At 2:00 am on July 30, two Spanish schooners attacked the miners from the sea. Their attack was unsuccessful and they had to withdraw. At 1:00 pm the British finally detonated the mine. The debris of the explosion partly filled the ditch but Albemarle judged it passable, and launched an assault, sending 700 picked men against the right bastion. Before the Spanish could react, 16 men gained a foothold on the bastion. The fort finally fell that morning. The British now occupied a position commanding the city as well as the bay. They built batteries along the north side of the entrance channel from the Morro fort to La Cabana hill.

On August 11, after Governor Prado had rejected the demand for surrender sent to him by Albermarle, the British batteries opened fire on Havana. A total of 47 guns (15 x 32-pdrs, 32 x 24-pdrs), 10 mortars and 5 howitzers pounded the city from a distance of 550-880 yds. By the end of the day Fort la Punta was silenced. Prado had no other choice left but to surrender. Prado and his army obtained the honors of war. Admiral Hevia neglected to burn his fleet which fell intact in the hands of the British.

On 14 August the British entered the city. They had obtained possession of the most important harbor in the Spanish West Indies along with military equipment, 1,828,116 Spanish pesos and merchandise valued around 1,000,000 Spanish pesos. Furthermore, they had seized 20% of the ships of the line of the Spanish Navy.

During the siege the British had lost 2,764 killed, wounded, captured or deserted, but by mid October also had lost 4,708 dead from sickness. Three ships of line lost were lost either as a direct result of the Spanish gunfire or severe damage received which would cause their demise later.

The loss of Havana and Western Cuba was a serious blow for Spain. Not only were the financial losses considerable, the loss in prestige was even greater. This defeat, together with the conquest of Manila by the British one and a half months later, meant the loss of both the capitals of the Spanish West Indies and the Spanish East Indies. This confirmed British naval supremacy, and showed the fragility of the Spanish Empire.

[Ennath]

June 7, 1099
The Crusaders Besiege Jerusalem

After the successful siege of Antioch in 1098, the Crusaders remained in the area for the rest of the year. The papal legate Adhemar du Puy had died, and Bohemund of Taranto had claimed Antioch for himself. Baldwin of Boulogne remained in Edessa, captured earlier in 1098. There was dissent among the princes over what to do next; by the end of the year the minor knights and infantry were threatening to march to Jerusalem without them. Eventually, on January 13, 1099 Raymond of Toulouse began the march south, down the coast of the Mediterranean, followed by Robert of Normandy and Bohemond's nephew Tancred, who agreed to become his vassals.

On their way, the Crusaders besieged Arqa, however the Crusaders failed to capture it, abandoning the siege on May 13. The Fatimids had attempted to make peace, on the condition that the crusaders not continue towards Jerusalem, but this was ignored; Iftikhar ad-Daula, the Fatimid governor of Jerusalem, was aware of the Crusaders' intentions. Therefore, he expelled all of Jerusalem's Christian inhabitants. He also poisoned most of the wells in the area. Further progress towards Jerusalem met no resistance.

On 7 June, the crusaders reached Jerusalem, which had been recaptured from the Seljuqs by the Fatimids only the year before. Many Crusaders wept upon seeing the city they had journeyed so long to reach.

As with Antioch the crusaders laid a formal siege, in which the crusaders themselves probably suffered more than the citizens of the city, due to the lack of food and water around Jerusalem. The city was well-prepared for the siege. Of the estimated 5,000 knights who took part in the Princes' Crusade, only about 1,500 remained, along with another 12,000 healthy foot-soldiers. Godfrey de Bouillon, Robert of Flanders, and Robert of Normandy (who had now also left Raymond to join Godfrey) besieged the north walls as far south as the Tower of David, while Raymond set up his camp on the western side, from the Tower of David to Mount Zion. A direct assault on the walls on June 13 was a failure. Without water or food, both men and animals began to die of thirst and starvation and the crusaders knew time was not on their side. (Soon after the first assault, 2 Genoese galleys sailed into the port at Jaffa, and the crusaders were able to re-supply themselves for a short time.) The crusaders also began to gather wood to build siege engines. They were still short on food and water, and by the end of June there was news that a Fatimid army was marching north from Egypt.

Faced with a seemingly impossible task, their spirits were raised when a priest by the name of Peter Desiderius claimed to have a divine vision in which the ghost of Adhemar instructed them to fast for three days and then march in a barefoot procession around the city walls, after which the city would fall in nine days, following the Biblical example of Joshua at the siege of Jericho. Although they were already starving, they fasted, and on July 8 they made the procession, with the clergy blowing trumpets and singing psalms, being mocked by the defenders of Jerusalem all the while. The procession stopped on the Mount of Olives and sermons were delivered.

Throughout the siege, attacks were made on the walls, but each one was repulsed. The Genoese troops, led by commander Guglielmo Embriaco, had previously dismantled the ships in which the Genoese came to the Holy Land; Embriaco, using the ship's wood, made some siege towers. These were rolled up to the walls on the night of July 14 much to the surprise and concern of the garrison. On the morning of July 15, Godfrey's tower reached his section of the walls near the northeast corner gate, and according to the Gesta Francorum two Flemish knights from Tournai named Lethalde and Engelbert were the first to cross into the city, followed by Godfrey, his brother Eustace, Tancred, and their men. Raymond's tower was at first stopped by a ditch, but as the other crusaders had already entered, the Muslim guarding the gate surrendered to Raymond.

The city was put to the sack as resistance collapsed. The massacre became infamous; estimates of the dead run as high as 70,000.

Following the battle, Godfrey of Bouillon was made Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri ("advocate" or "defender of the Holy Sepulcher") on July 22, refusing to be named king in the city where Christ had died, saying that he refused to wear a crown of gold in the city where Christ wore a crown of thorns. Raymond had refused any title at all, and Godfrey convinced him to give up the Tower of David as well. Raymond then went on a pilgrimage, and in his absence Arnulf of Chocques, whom Raymond had opposed, was elected the first Latin Patriarch on August 1 (the claims of the Greek Patriarch were ignored). On August 5, Arnulf, after consulting the surviving inhabitants of the city, “discovered” the relic of the True Cross.

On August 12, Godfrey led an army, with the True Cross carried in the vanguard, against the Fatimid army at the Battle of Ascalon on August 12. The crusaders were victorious, but following the victory, the majority of them considered their crusading vows to have been fulfilled, and all but a few hundred knights returned home. Nevertheless, their victory paved the way for the establishment of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

[Ennath]

June 8, 1862
Stonewall Jackson Faces Two Union Armies

On June 6–7, 1862, Stonewall Jackson's army, numbering about 16,000, bivouacked north of Port Republic, Maj. Gen. Richard Ewell's division along the banks of Mill Creek near Goods Mill, and Brig. Gen. Charles Winder's division on the north bank of North River near the bridge. Jackson's headquarters were in Madison Hall at Port Republic. The army trains were parked nearby.

Two Union columns converged on Jackson's position. The army of Maj. Gen. John Frémont, about 15,000 strong, moved south on the Valley Pike and reached the vicinity of Harrisonburg on June 6. The division of Brig. Gen. James Shields, about 10,000, advanced south from Front Royal, but was badly strung out because of the muddy Luray Road. At Port Republic, Jackson possessed the last intact bridge on the North River and the fords on the South River by which Frémont and Shields could unite. Jackson determined to check Frémont's advance at Mill Creek, while meeting Shields on the east bank of the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. A Confederate signal station on Massanutten monitored Union progress.

Early in the morning on June 8, Frémont's men encountered the Confederate advanced guard near Cross Keys Tavern. A few shots were fired and the Union cavalry fell back onto their main body, which was approaching. Darkness prevented further developments.

Colonel Samuel S. Carroll, at the head of a regiment of Union cavalry, supported by an artillery battery and a brigade of infantry, was sent ahead by Shields to secure the North River Bridge at Port Republic. Shortly after dawn (June 8), Carroll scattered the Confederate pickets, forded the South River, and dashed into Port Republic. Jackson and his staff raced down the main street from headquarters and across the bridge, narrowly eluding capture. Carroll deployed one gun aimed at the bridge and brought up another. Jackson directed the defense, ordering Captain William Poague's battery to unlimber on the north bank. The 37th Virginia Infantry launched a charge across the bridge and drove the Union cavalry out of the town. Carroll retreated in confusion, losing his two guns, before his infantry could come within range. Three Confederate batteries unlimbered on the bluffs east of Port Republic on the north bank of the South Fork and fired on the retreating Federals. Carroll retired several miles north on the Luray Road. Jackson stationed Brig. Gen. Taliaferro's brigade in Port Republic and positioned the Stonewall Brigade near Bogota with the artillery to prevent any further surprises.

Meanwhile, Frémont, with Col. Gustave Cluseret's brigade in the lead, renewed his advance from the vicinity of Harrisonburg. After driving away the Confederate skirmishers, Cluseret reached and deployed his right flank along the Keezletown Road near Union Church. One by one, the Union brigades came into line: Brig. Gen. Robert Schenck on Cluseret's right, Brig. Gen. Robert Milroy on his left, and Brig. Gen. Julius Stahel on the far left, his left flank near Congers Creek. Brig. Gen. William Bohlen's and Col. John Koltes's brigades were held in reserve near the center of the line. A regiment of Union cavalry moved south on the road to secure the right flank. Batteries were brought to the front.

Ewell deployed his infantry division behind Mill Creek, Brig. Gen. Isaac Trimble's brigade on the right across the Port Republic Road, Brig. Gen. Arnold Elzey's in the center along the high bluffs. Ewell concentrated his artillery (4 batteries) at the center of the line. As Union troops deployed along Keezletown Road, Trimble advanced his brigade a quarter of a mile to Victory Hill and deployed Courtenay's battery on a hill to his left supported by the 21st North Carolina Infantry. Trimble held his regiments out of sight behind the crest of the hill.

Frémont determined to advance his battle line with the evident intention of enveloping the Confederate position, assumed to be behind Mill Creek. This maneuver required an elaborate right wheel. Stahel's brigade on the far left had the farthest distance to cover and advanced first. Milroy moved forward on Stahel's right and rear. Union batteries were advanced with infantry lines south of Keezletown Road and engaged Confederate batteries. Stahel appeared oblivious to Trimble's advanced position. His battle line passed down into the valley, crossed the run, and began climbing Victory Hill. At a distance of sixty paces, Trimble's infantry stood up and delivered a devastating volley. Stahel's brigade recoiled in confusion with heavy casualties. The Union brigade regrouped on the height opposite Victory Hill but made no effort to renew their assault.

Stahel did not renew his attack but brought up a battery to support his position. Trimble moved the 15th Alabama by the right flank and up a ravine to get on the battery's left. In the meantime, Ewell sent two regiments along the ridge to Trimble's right, attracting a severe fire from the Union battery. With a shout, the 15th Alabama emerged from their ravine and began to climb the hill toward the battery, precipitating a melee. Trimble advanced his other two regiments from their position on Victory Hill, forcing back the Union line. The Union battery limbered hastily and withdrew, saving its guns. A Union regiment counterattacked briefly, striking the left flank of the 16th Mississippi, but was forced back in desperate fighting.

Trimble continued advancing up the ravine on the Confederate right, outflanking successive Union positions. In the meantime, Milroy advanced on Stahel's right, supported by artillery. Milroy's line came within rifle-musket range of the Confederate center behind Mill Creek and opened fire. Union batteries continued to engage Confederate batteries in an artillery duel. Bohlen advanced on the far Union left to stiffen Stahel's crumbling defense. Milroy's left flank was endangered by Stahel's retreat, and Frémont ordered him to withdraw. Jackson brought Taylor's brigade forward to support Ewell if needed, but Taylor remained in reserve on the Port Republic Road near the Dunker Church.

Seemingly paralyzed by the decimation of Stahel's brigade on his left, Frémont was unable to mount a coordinated attack. He ordered Schenck's brigade forward to find the Confederate left flank south of Union Church. Ewell reinforced his left with elements of Elzey's brigade. Severe firing erupted along the line but quickly died down. Frémont withdrew his force to Keezletown Road, placing his artillery on the heights to his rear (Oak Ridge). Artillery firing continued.

Union casualties totaled 557 killed and wounded and 100 captured, while the Confederates lost fewer than 300 men. At dusk, Trimble pushed his battle line forward to within a quarter mile of the Union position, anticipating a night assault. Confederate accounts describe the Union soldiers going into camp, lighting fires, and making coffee. Schneck sent out a company to probe the Confederate positions after dark, but after a brief skirmish the company withdrew and no other engagements took place. During the night, Ewell ordered Trimble to withdraw without making the attack.

TO BE CONTINUED