January 29 in Military History — On This Day

⚔️📍 Brienne-le-Château, France1814

Battle of Brienne — Napoleon's Last Campaign

Napoleon won a tactical victory over the Prussian army of Field Marshal Blücher near Brienne, temporarily halting the Allied advance into France. It was one of Napoleon's most tactically brilliant performances despite being outnumbered.

The brief French victories in early 1814 showed Napoleon's genius but could not overcome the coalition's overwhelming numerical advantage; Paris fell within two months.

Outcome

French tactical victory

Casualties

6,000

Battle of Khafji

On the night of January 29, two Iraqi armored divisions crossed into Saudi Arabia and seized the small coastal town of Khafji — the first and only Iraqi ground offensive of the war. For two days, Saudi Arabian National Guard and Qatari forces, backed by US Marines and devastating coalition air power, fought to retake the town. Two US Marine reconnaissance teams were trapped inside Khafji for the entire battle, hiding in buildings and radioing intelligence on Iraqi troop movements while Iraqi soldiers searched for them. Saudi and Qatari forces ultimately recaptured Khafji on February 1 after house-to-house fighting.

The Battle of Khafji — the only Iraqi offensive action of the war — ended as a decisive coalition victory, demonstrating that Iraqi forces were no match for the combination of Western air power and Arab ground forces fighting on home soil.

Full battle details →