This day in military history..

Mar 2
537 Siege of Rome begins(ends Mar. 12, 538)
1476 Battle of Grandson
1776 Battle of the Rice Boats
1811 naval Battle of San Nicolas
1940 Rescue Tug HMS Fairplay II wrecked at Redcar
1942 At Surabaya the following ships are scuttled: Dutch: Destroyers Witte De With and Bonckert, Subs K X, K XIII, K XVIII,Minesweepers "B" & "D", Minelayers Bangkalen, Soemenep and Rigel, Rigel sunk as blockship. Barracks ship Koning der Nederlands. US: Destroyer USS Stewart scuttled in a Dutch floating dry dock, will be raised, repaired and put in IJN service as Patrol Boat No.102.
Destroyers HMS Stronghold and USS Pillsbury sunk by IJN warships south of Java. R.N. Whaler HMS Shera ices up and capsizes/sinks in the Barents Sea. Aircraft Ferry Kamagawa Maru sunk by USS Sailfish north of Lombok Island.
1943 Battle of the Bismarck Sea begins. KM Minelayer Doggerbank sunk by U-43 in mid-Atlantic. US Sub Chaser SC-1024 sunk in a collision off N. Carolina.
1944 R.N. LST-342 sunk by U-744. 1945 U-3519 sunk by mine off Warnemunde. Soviet Patrol Boat BO-224 sunk by U-995 in Barents Sea.
1945 USN LCT-1029 wrecked/abandond at Iwo Jima
1949 A B-50 finishes the 1st around the World non-stop flight
1965 Operation Rolling Thunder begins
 
March 1, 2000 - near village Ulus-Kert at the exit of Argun Gorge in Chechnya, 91 Russian Paratroopers of 6th Company of 104th Guard Paratrooper regiment, 76th Airborne Division (Pskov) heroically takes on some 2,500 terrorist fighters. The Paratroopers fought to the death, in the end, the unit's commander, Mark Evtyukhin, sent out one last radio message, calling massive artillery strikes on their own position, which then destroyed the terrorists, along with most remaining Paratroopers (in the end, only 6 of the company were left alive).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Height_776

Mark Evtyukhin
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Some of the other Paratroopers who died there
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Their memorial in Pskov
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And, of course, their deaths were not in vain:

"84 Pskov Paratroopers Street" in Grozny, Chechnya
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:)
 
Mar 4
1238 Battle of Sit River
1814 Battle of Longwoods, Ont.
1865 Battle of Natural Bridge, Fla.
1913 Battle of Bizani begins
1941 KM Trawler Krebs sunk by Destroyer HMS Somali off the Lofetens Islands.
1942 Depot Ship HMS Anking, Minesweeper MMS 51 and Sloop HMAS Yarra sunk by IJN warships south of Java
1943 U-87 sunk by Corvette HMCS Shediac and Destroyer HMCS St. Croix. Battle of the Bismarck Sea ends: US Army and RAAF aircraft sink abandoned Destroyers Tokitsukaze and Asashio.
1944 U-472 sunk by Destroyer HMS Onslaught and Swordfish from HMS Chaser.
1945 U-3508 bombed/sunk at Wilhelmshaven
1970 French Sub Eurydice sunk by an explosion while submerged.
 
Mar 5
1279 Battle of Aizkraukle
1811 Battle of Barrosa
1865 Gunboat CSS Spray burned to prevent capture in the St. Marks River, Fla.
1906 Battle of Bud Dajo begins
1912 1st use of airships for a military purpose, by Italians observing Turks.
1936 1st flight Spitfire
1943. 1st flight Gloster Meteor. Destroyers Murasame and Minegumo sunk by US warships off Kolombangara
1944 Red Army begins the Vman-Botosani Offensive. U-366 sunk by Swordfish from HMS Chaser off Norway. R.N. Motor Launch ML-387 sunk by internal explosion at Beirut. Minelayer Shirakami sinks off Yoshino-Hama after a collision on the 3rd.
1945 USN LCS(L) wrecked on San Clemente Island, Cal. IJN Minesweeper W-15 damaged by USS Tilefish and beached.
1948 1st flight XF-87
 
Mar 6
1822 USS Enterprise captures 4 Pirate ships in the Gulf of Mexico
1836 Battle of The Alamo ends
1862 Battle of Pea Ridge begins
1938 Battle of Cape Palos
1940 Dutch sub O-11 sunk in collision with a Tug at Den Helder, raised Mar 10.
1941 Italian sub Anfitrite sunk by Destroyer HMS Greyhound off Crete. R.N. Trawler HMS Keryado sunk by mine in the English Channel south of Newhaven. Tug HMS Sun VII sunk by mine in Thames Estuary
1942 Dutch Minesweepers C and Pieter de Bitter scuttled at Surabaya
1943 R.N. Motor Launch ML-251 sunk in a collision in the Atlantic. Sub HMS Turbulent sunk by Italian Torpedo Boat Ardeto off Naples
1944 U-744 damaged and captured by Destroyer HMS Icarus, scuttled after attempt to tow to port failed. U-973 sunk bySwordfish from HMS Chaser in the Norwegian Sea.
1945 KM Destroyer Z-28 bombed/sunk in the Baltic
 
Mar 7
1799 Napoleon captures Jaffa
1814 Battle of Craonne
1902 Battle of Tweebosch
1940 French Aux. Minesweeper Marie Yette sunk in a collision on the Gironde
1941 U-70 sunk by Corvettes HMS Camellia and Arbutus. R.N. MTB 28 burns at Portsmouth.
1942 Dutch Minelayer Golden Leeuw scuttled at Surabaya
1944 PT-337 sunk by shore batteries off Hansa Bay, New Guinea.
1945 US captures the Ludendorf Bridge. U-1302 sunk by 3 Canadian Frigates in St. George's Chanell
1951 Operation Ripper begins
1968 Operation Coronado XII begins
 
Mar 8
1722 Battle of Gulnabud
1862 Battle of Pea Ridge ends. Battle of Hampton Roads begins, USS Congress and Cumberland sunk
1865 Battle of Kinston begins
1916 Battle of Dujaila
1932 1st Battle of Shanghai ends
1937 Battle of Guadalajara begins
1942 Battle of Java ends, Dutch Minesweeper Jan Van Amsted sunk by IJN Destroyers in Madura Strait, Minesweeper Eland Dubois scuttled in Madura Strait and Minelayer Krakatau scuttled off Madura. R.N. Trawler HMS Nothern Princess sunk with all hands by U-587 off Newfoundland. R.N. Trawler HMS Notts County sunk with all hands south of Iceland.
1943 U-156 sunk by USN PBY east of Barbados. R.N. LCT-2480 lost as deck cargo when SS Fort Lamy sunk by U-527 in the Atlantic
1944 Bouganville: Battle of Hill 700 begins
 
Mar 9
1230 Battle of Klokotnitsa
1811 Battle of Tacuari
1847 Battle of Vera Cruz begins
1862 Battle of Hampton Roads ends with 1st battle between Ironclads.
1916 Pancho Villa's Columbus, N.M. Raid
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Gulfoss sunk by mine off Hastings. R.N. Trawler HMS Hatsuse striks mine and is beached in Cawsand Bay. Refloated, repaired, returned to service.
1943 R.N. LCT-2341 lost as deck cargo when U-405 sinks Norwegian ship SS Bonneville.
1945 KM Minesweeper M-412 scuttled at Granville, France during a Raid on Allied supplies. Troopship Meteor II bombed/sunk by Soviet aircraft at Pillau.
 
Mar 10
241 B.C. naval Battle of Aegusa
1783 Frigate USS Alliance defeats Frigate HMS Sybil off Cape Canaveral, Fl., Sybil manages to escape after the fight ends. Last battle of the American Revolutionary War.
1814 Battle of Laon
1830 Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) founded.
1831 French Foriegn Legion founded
1865 Battle of Kinston ends
1936 1st flight Fairey Battle
1942 Armed Merchant Cruiser Kongo Maru and Aux. Minelayer Tenyo Maru bombed/sunk by USN aircraft off Lae, New Guinea
1943 U-633 rammed/sunk by SS Scortun south of Iceland. R.N. MGB 622 sunk by KM warships off Tershelling, Netherlands.
1944 Destroyer escort USS Leopold sinks after being torpedoed by U-255 on the 9th south of Iceland. U-343 sunk by R.N. Trawler HMS Mull north of Bizerta. U-450 sunk by 4 R.N. and one USN ship off Ostia, Italy. U-625 sunk by RCAF Sunderland west of Ireland. U-845 sunk by 3 RCN and one R.N. ship south-west of Ireland. Corvette HMS Asphodel sunk by U-575. USN Sub Chaser SC-700 burns at Vella Lavella in a refueling accident.
1945 U-275 sunk by mine off Beachy Head. U-681 sunk by USN PB4Y west of the Isles of Scilly. Norwegian Naval Trawler Nordhav II sunk by U-714 off Dundee, Scotland. Vichy French Sloop Amiral Charner and Gunboat Marne scuttled in French Indochina.
 
Mar 11
1387 Battle of Castagnaro
1863 Battle of Ft. Pemberton
1917 British capture Baghdad
1940 U-21 sunk by a Blenheim in the Jade Estuary. Raised, repaired, returned to service
1942 Cruiser HMS Naiad sunk by U-565 south of Crete. R.N. Trawler HMS Stella Capella sunk with all hands by U-701 off Iceland
1943 U-444 depth charged by Free French Corvette Aconit and Destroyer HMS Harvester, rammed and sunk by HMS Harvester, in turn she is sunk by U-432, and she is sunk by Aconit. KM Blockade Runner Karin scuttled in the Atlantic when intercepted. KM Minesweeper M-4620 sunk by Norwegian MTB off Askvoll, Norway. R.N. LCT 2398 lost as deck cargo when SS William C Gorgas is sunk by U-767.
1944 U-IT22 sunk by RSAAF aircraft south of the Cape of Good Hope. U-380 and 410 bombed/sunk at Toulon
1945 U-682 bombed/sunk at Hamburg. The following KM Minesweepers were bombed/sunk, M-2 at Fedjefjord, Norway, M-266 at Kiel, M-804 at Monkeberg, M-805 at Heikendorf.
 
Mar 12
538 Siege of Rome lifted, began 2 Mar 537
1550 Battle of Penco
1811 Battle of Redinha
1938 Germany occupies Austria
1940 Winter War ends
1942 Fleet Air Arm Target Ship HMS St. Briac sunk by mine east of Aberdeen
1943 Destroyer HMS Lightning sunk by E Boats S-158 and S-55 off Algeria. U-130 sunk by Destroyer USS Champlin west of the Azores
1945 KM Depot ship MRS-4 sunk by Norwegian MTB off the Kvaloyta Lighthouse, Haugesund. Troopship Rolandseck bombed/sunk at Skagen, Denmark. U-260 sunk south of Glandore, Ireland probably by an uncharted underwater rock.
 
Mar 13
624 Battle of Badr
1591 Battle of Tondibi
1884 Siege of Khartoum begins, ends 26/1/1885
1900 British occupy Bloenfontein
1940 U-44 sunk by mine off The Netherlands
1942 PT-32 scuttled by sub USS Permit in the Philippines
1943 UK Troopship Empress of Canada sunk by Italian sub Leonardo Da Vinci south of Liberia. U-163 sunk by HMCS Prescott n.w. of Cape Finesterre
1944 U-575 sunk by US Army, USN & RAF aircraft, USN and RCN warships. Cruiser Tatsuta sunk by sub USS Sand Lance off Hachijo Jima
1945 HMS Sea Lion scuttled for use as an ASDIC traing target off the Isle of Arran. IJN Coast Defence Frigate CD-66 bombed/sunk east of Swatow, China
1954 Battle of Bien Bien Phu begins
 
Mar 14
1590 Battle of Ivry
1757 Adm. Sir John Bing executed
1780 Spanish capture British Ft. Charlotte, Mobile, Al.
1782 Battle of Wuchale
1862 Union troops capture New Berne, N.C. and New Madrid, Mo
1863 US Navy fleet tries to run past the batteries at Port Hudson. USS Hartford and Albatross make it, USS Mississippi runs aground on a mud bank in range of the batteries, the rest turn back.
1864 Red River Campaign: Battle of Ft. De Russy
1915 Cruiser SMS Dresden scuttled off Chile
1939 1st flight Marin Maryland bomber, only used by France and the UK.
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Jeannie Leask damaged by mine and beached at Brightlingsea. Bombed/damaged on 25th. Refloated, repaired and returned to service. Italian Hospital Ship Po torpedoed/sunk by Swordfish at Vlore
1942 U-133 sunk by mine off Salamis. Italian Sub Ammiraglio Enrico Millo sunk by sub HMS Ultimatum off Calabria, Italy
1943 R.N. Trawler HMS Moravia sunk by mine in the North Sea. Sub HMS Thunderbolt sunk by Italian Corvette Cicogna off Sicily. Norwegian MTB 631 wrecked off Florio, salvaged by the Germans
1945 1st use of the Grand Slam bomb on Germany. U-714 sunk by HMSAS Frigate Natal and HMS Wivern in the Firth of Forth. KM Troopship Hugo Zeye sunk by mine off Fehmorn, Germany. Torpedo Boats T-3 and T-5 sunk by mines at Hela, Prussia
1951 UN recaptures Seoul
1978 Israel invades Lebanon
 
Mar 15
933 Battle of Riade
1781 Battle of Guilford Corthouse
1863 USS Mississippi is abandonded & set on fire, she drifts down river through the Federal fleet eventually blowing up.
1864 Red River Campaign: USN fleet arrives at Alexandria, La
1916 US troops invade Mexico in pursuit of Panco Villa after the Columbus Raid
1935 1st flight D0-18A flying boat
1940 R.N. Trawler HMS Peridot sunk by mine off Dover
1942 U-503 sunk by USN Hudson south east of Newfoundland. Destroyer HMS Vortigern sunk by E Boat S-104 off Cromer. USCG Lighthouse Tender Acacia sunk by U-161 south of Haiti
1943 3rd Battle of Kharkov ends. USS sub Triton sunk by 3 IJN Destroyers off Kairiru Island
1944 U-653 sunk by Sloops Starling and Wild Goose and Swordfish from HMS Vindex west of Ireland
1945 USS Lancetfish sinks at Boston Navy Yard while incomplete. Raised and decommissioned a week later. Scrapped in 1959 with out ever going to Sea.
 
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Mar 16
597 B.C. Balylonians capture Jerusalem
1322 Battle of Boroughbridge
1782 French capturte Roatan from the British
1802 US Army Corps of Engineers est.
1812 Siege of Badajoz begins
1818 2nd Battle of Cancha Rayada
1865 Battle of Averasborough
1940 R.N. Trawler HMS Maida sunk by mine east of North Foreland
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Lady Lilian bombed/sunk west of Erris Head, Ireland
1943 R.N. Trawler HMS Campobello is scuttled after developing severe leaks in the Atlantic. Rescue Tug HMS Horsa wrecked near Osfles Rock, Ireland
1944 R.N. MTB 417 sunk by KM warship off Calais. Destroyer Shirakumo sunk by USS Tautog east of Mururon. U-392 sunk by 3 USN PBYs and Frigate HMS Affleck and Destroyer HMS Vanoc in the Strait of Gibraltar.
1945 U-367 sunk by mine in the Baltic. Patrol Ship UJ-1105 bombed/sunk in the Skagerrak. IJN Coast Defence Frigate CD-69 sinks from bomb damage inflicted on the 8th
 
Mar 17
45 B.C. Battle of Munda
1776 Siege of Boston ends
1860 1st Taranaki War begins
1863 Battle of Kellysville
1865 Mobile, Al. Campaign begins
1898 USS Holland, 1st practicle sub, is launched
1936 1st flight Whitley bomber
1939 Battle of Nanchang begins
1941 U-99 sunk by HMS Vanoc and HMS Walker s.e. of Iceland. U-100 sunk by HMS Vanoc s.e. of Iceland. Armed Yacht HMS Mollusc bombed/sunk off Blyth
1942 Italian sub Guglielmotti sunk by sub HMS Unbeaten off Calabria. Rescue Tug HMS Adept wrecked in the Hebrides
1943 Dutch troopship Dempo sunk by U-371 N.E. of Bougie. PT-67 and 119 burned in a refueling accident at Tufi, New Guinea. U-28 sinks in a collision with a training target, ripping off the conning tower and flooding the boat in the Baltic. All crewmembers escape after she sinks. U-801 sunk by Destroyer USS Cory and Destroyer Escort USS Bronstein and Avengers from USS Block Island west of the Cape Verde Islands. U-1013 sunk in a collision with U-286 east of Rugen in the Baltic
1945 Minesweeper HMS Guysborough sunk by U-868 in the Bay of Biscay.
1947 1st flight B-45
1988 Battle of Afabet begins
 
Mar 18
1241 Battle of Chmielnik
1865 Battle of Bentonville begins
1915 Naval Battle of Gallipoli
1941 Armed Boarding Vessel HMS Rosaura sunk by mine off Tobruk
1942 Italian sub Tricheco sunk by sub HMS Upholder off Brindisi
1945 U-866 sunk by 4 USN Destroyer Escorts east of Nova Scotia. IJN LST No. 18 sunk by sub USS Springer off Okinawa
 
Mar 19
1279 naval Battle of Yamen
1861 1st Taranaki War ends
1943 U-5 sunk in diving accident west of Pillau. U-384 sunk by RAF B-17 s.w. of Iceland
1944 Germany occupys Hungary. U-1059 sunk by Avengers from USS Block Island s.w. of the Cape Verde Islands. IJN Aux. Sub Chasers CHa-47 and 49 bombed/sunk north of Wewak.
1945 USS Franklin severly damage off Japan. Carrier Ryuho bombed and irreparibly damaged off Kure. IJN Gunboat Suma sunk by mine in the Yangtze north of Kiangyin
1982 Argentina invades South Georgia
2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom begins
2011 French Air Force intervienes in Libyan Civil War
 
Mar 20
1922 1st USN Carrier, USS Langley, is Commissioned.
1932 1st flight P-32
1940 KM Sperrbrecher 12 bombed/sunk off Ameland.
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Soizic is lost. Tug HMS Sir Bevois bombed/sunk at Plymouth.
1942 Destroyer HMS Heythrop sunk by U-652 off Libya
Patrol Craft YP-438 runs aground and sinks off Port Everglades, Fla.
1944 Decommissioned sub HMS Graph breaks its tow and is wrecked off Could Point. KM Sperrbrecher 163 sunk by mine in the Skagerrak.
1945 Km Minesweepers M-15 and 16 bombed/sunk at Kiel. R.N. LST-80 sunk by mine off Ostend. Minesweeper HMS Lapwing sunk by U-968 in the Kola Inlet
1988 Battle of Afabet ends
 
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Mar 21
717 Battle of Vincy
1801 Battle of Alexandria
1814 Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube ends
1865 Battle of Bentonville ends
1918 German Spring Offensive begins
1941 R.N. Trawler HMS Asama bombed/sunk at Plymouth
1942 R.N. Motor Launches ML 129 and 132 bombed/sunk off Algeria
1945 British liberate Mandalay. IJN Sub Chaser CH-66 and Minelayer Tateishi bombed/sunk off Nha Trang, French Indochina
1968 Battle of Karamah
 
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