📅 On This Day in Military History
3 events across history
Burgoyne's army, advancing south from Canada to cut off New England, collided with Gates's Continental forces at Freeman's Farm along the Hudson River. Daniel Morgan's riflemen and Benedict Arnold's aggressive counterattacks inflicted heavy casualties. Despite holding the field, Burgoyne suffered losses he could not replace, far from his supply lines.
The first engagement of the Saratoga campaign established the pattern — American riflemen decimated British officers and Burgoyne's supply situation became increasingly desperate. The noose was tightening.
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The Confederacy's last major victory in the Western Theater. A gap accidentally opened in the Union line and Confederate forces poured through, routing most of the army. Gen. George Thomas earned the nickname 'Rock of Chickamauga' by holding the Union left.
Confederate victory trapped Union forces in Chattanooga. Grant was sent west to break the siege and would soon command all Union armies.
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British and Empire forces under Allenby shattered the Ottoman army in Palestine. Using cavalry, aircraft, and coordinated infantry in a masterful combined-arms operation, Allenby destroyed three Ottoman armies in a week. Damascus fell on October 1st. T.E. Lawrence and the Arab Revolt rode alongside, entering cities in triumph.
The most complete military victory of WWI. Knocked the Ottoman Empire out of the war and ended 400 years of Ottoman rule in the Arab world. The subsequent Sykes-Picot division of the Middle East by Britain and France drew borders that fuel conflict to this day.
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