July 10

July 10, 1944 – Battle of Caen

On the seventh operation to capture Caen, British forces finally reached the city-center on July 10, 1944. During Operation Charnwood, over a month after it was planned to be taken, the city center of Caen was taken, though without heavy casualties.

In hours of tough combat British and Canadian troops moved at a snails pace trying to dislodge their German opponents. They met stiff resistance from fanatical and well-armed troops from the 9., 10., and 12.SS divisions even after huge aerial bombardments. Although they captured the city-center on July 10, the battle for Caen would not be over until August.

An ammunition carrier explodes after being struck by a mortar round

July 10, 1460 – Battle of Northampton

On July 10, 1460 the King’s supporting army of 10-15,000 troops took up positions at Northampton in the grounds of Delapre Abbey with their backs to the river Nene. To protect their front they built a water-filled ditch and placed sharp stakes on top.

At two o’clock the Yorkist troops, numbering 20-30,000 advanced upon the King’s supporters. The defenders tried halting the advance with arrows, but as soon as the Yorkist forces hit their right flank the battle deteriorated rapidly. The King’s forces were quickly routed from battle and the King was captured and made into a puppet by Yorkist leaders.

July 9

July 9, 1386 – Battle of Sempach

After the defeat of his uncle years before, Duke Leopold III of Austria tried to re-enter Switzerland and take control of the confederation of cantons. He brought an estimated 3-4000 troops including heavily armored knights.

After setting up in battle formation, Leopold’s troops assaulted the army of the confederation without realizing the force was only the advanced guard. When the majority of the confederation’s army finally formed up they attacked aggressively in the flank of the Austrian troops creating panic amongst all ranks. The penetrated the line so deep that Duke Leopold III and many of his nobles were slain.

The armies of Austria and the Swiss Cantons meet

July 9, 1553 – Battle of Sievershausen

The battle of Sievershausen took place in today’s Lehrte, Germany between Albert Alcibiades and Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach versus the Elector of Saxony and Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.

The combed Saxon-Brunswick army had around 15,500 troops against Albert’s 18,000. Albert had been plundering Franconia with his forces for much time before they were finally fallen upon by the Saxon-Brunswick army, which defeated them in a pitch battle.

July 8

July 8, 1709 – Battle of Poltava

In the early campaigns of Charles XII of Sweden, Russian forces under Peter I were humiliated in a fantastic showing by the twenty-seven year old Swedish ruler. The battle of Narva had seen the death of countless Russian troops and more importantly, the Swedish were able to exact such high tolls from the Russian army with fewer men.

In the spring of 1709, Charles marched his depleted Swedish force to lay siege to the fort of Poltava on the Vorskla River in the Ukraine. En route his men suffered 33% casualties due to starvation and frostbite, while the wet weather had depleted the armies supply of gunpowder and rendered cannons obsolete. When the Russians opposed the Swedish forces they had the numerical superiority. The Swedish had 22,100 cavalry and infantry with 3-7,000 allied cavalry and 34 cannons. The Russians had 60,000 cavalry and infantry with 102 cannons. This numerical superiority was taken advantage of in the battle of Poltava as superior Swedish troops pushed the Russian center back, but were enveloped by the much larger force. In the end, the battle marked the end of the great Swedish empire in the northern European region. The Russian victory propelled them to super-power status in that region of the world

Russian forces fight against Swedish. Painted 1726

July 8, 1941 – Division of Occupied Yugoslavia

As German influence in World War II spread over much of Europe, only a few stalwart nations remained audacious enough to confront the will of the German military. One of those was Yugoslavia who defended her borders after a military led coup.

In the aftermath of the short campaign the major axis nations divided Yugoslavia into spheres of influence. Croatia was to be independent (with Italian support). The province of Ljubljana and part of the Dalmatian and Adriatic islands were annexed to Italy. Bosnia fell under the protection of Italy and Germany took Montenegro, Carinthia, and Cariola. Hungary took some northern territory as well

July 7, 1777 – Battle of Hubbardton

On July 5, 1777 General Arthur St. Clair’s forces, located at Fort Ticonderoga, began a withdraw in light of heavy British pressure. The American revolutionary forces marched from Ticonderoga, but the British were close on their heels.

Two days later in the early morning hours, British troops attacked the encamped rearguard of the American army at Hubbardton. The attack surprised the defenders and at first American units were fleeing from battle at breakneck speed. Soon the Americans were surrounded, but still they repulsed wave after wave of British troops. American General St. Clair sent for nearby militia to be thrown into the battle, but by the time he could relay the message they were already in full retreat. Still, the Americans held on and it looked as though they would be victorious against a superior enemy who had surrounded them in a surprise attack. At the last moment British reinforcements arrived sending the Americans in a full retreat across open ground where British musket fire ripped holes in the ranks of the already battered revolutionary forces.

Forces fighting in the woods near Hubbardton

July 7, 1937 – Battle of Lugou Bridge

After the invasion of Machuria in 1931, Japanese troops expanded rapidly throughout China occupying vast swaths of land. By the beginning of 1937 all areas north, east, and west of Beijing were occupied by Japanese forces. The major bridge still connecting Beijing to the outside world was the “Marco Polo Bridge” restored by the Kangxi emperor in the 17-18th century. The Japanese wanted control of the bridge and stationed troops on the southern side waiting for any opportunity to strike.

The Japanese held regular military maneuvers on their side of the bridge, but Chinese officials had asked that they were notified before commencing night maneuvers to prevent from disturbing Chinese civilians. On July 7, 1937 the Japanese army began maneuvers without notifying Chinese authorities. Chinese troops, on heightened alert, began firing a few ineffectual shots towards the Japanese camps. When a Japanese sentry did not return right away the Japanese chain of command was notified serving as a catalyst for Japanese hostilities. The Chinese and Japanese forces remained quiet for many hours, but eventually began assaulting the bridge for control. Less than a week later Chinese troops were totally defeated in the sector and the Japanese captured Beijing, thus beginning the Second-Sino-Japanese War

Troops defending the granite "Lugou Bridge"

July 6

July 6, 1621 - John Pieterszoon Coen Captures Banda-Islands

John Pieterszoon Coen was an officer of the Dutch East-India trading company. While an officer he tried to maintain a monopoly over the trade of nutmeg and mace, which could only be obtained from the Banda Islands. Although the Dutch East-India trading company had contracts with the native inhabitants to be allowed cheap spices, they were angered that the English were still a trading partner with the natives in these spices.

In 1621, Coen led an armed assault on the island of Lonthor to subdue the inhabitants and gain access to the monopoly he desired. He encountered stiff resistance from natives armed with English cannons and other weapons, but he eventually was victorious. After winning his prized monopoly he killed or exiled all the inhabitants totaling around 15,000 people.

John Pieterszoon Coen

July 6, 1495 - Battle at Fornovo

Through claims by his paternal grandmother, Charles VIII of France gained claims to the Kingdom of Naples in Italy. Charles decided to take a French army, aided by many Swiss mercenaries, into Italy to claim what was, in his mind, rightfully his. Upon entering Italy he was given safe passage through Milan, but was opposed by the pope and the Florentine kingdom. The armies thrown at the French by the small, divided Italian kingdoms were no match for the French and Charles excised a level of brutality across the Italian countryside they had not been seen on the peninsula before.

The Venetians and their allies were the real force to confront the French. They camped at Fornovo some thirty kilometers southwest of Parma to wait for the French. The Venetian senate was split, however, on whether to fight the French or not. Charles grew anxious as he saw Venetian armies being reinforced, while his army had no hope for re-supplies or reinforcements. This anxiety caused Charles to send a recon force of forty men to observe the Venetian positions and troops, but they were routed by the Stadioti. These Stadioti were of Greek-Albanian decent and were veterans of the Albanian-Turkish war only twenty years prior. Finally Charles, running low on supplies, decided to attack the Venetians and their allies. They moved three separate lines of forces against the Venetians. After an hour the battle was a stalemate with both sides taking heavy losses (French lost about 1,000 while the Venetians twice as many). The Venetian army was lucky in the fact that it had captured all of the treasure Charles had captured in his Italian campaign. This caused Charles to evacuate Italy without gaining anything and vowing to return, though he never did.

July 5

July 5, 1943 – Operation Zitadelle

With war turning tide, German military commanders in World War II planned for one of the largest armored operations ever used. The German forces hoped to destroy a Soviet bulge created after the defeat at Stalingrad. They amassed fifty divisions together, including four heavily equipped SS divisions and another heavily equipped Wehrmacht division “Grossdeutschland”. In waiting for these heavy weapons, the German army had allowed the Soviets four months to complete defenses and amass troops to counter such an assault. In total two Fronts (Central and Voronezh) were moved to the area where around one million mines were laid, and five hundred kilometers of trenches dug. They had amassed 1.3 million troops, 3,600 tanks, 20,000 artillery pieces, and 2,792 aircraft behind the German positions. The Germans could only muster 900,000 troops, 2,110 aircraft, and 3,000 tanks.

First launch of the operation started with a mainly air battle over the skies of Kursk. Waves of aircraft from both sides flew in one of the largest air battles in history. The German’s advance began to take shape, but the rapid doctrine of the German military forces could not be followed with the amount of mines, earthworks, and enemy resistance. Eventually the attack was ground to a halt with a Soviet counter-offensive following shortly thereafter

Panther tanks assault Soviet positions during the battle at Kursk

July 5, 1809 – Battle of Wagram

Napoleon Bonaparte’s victories had landed his French troops in Bavaria on the doorsteps of the Austria-Hungarian empire. While Napoleon was in Paris during April of 1809, his armies were attacked in Bavaria and Munich. The initial French defeat was countered when Napoleon returned to disrupt Austrian Archduke Charles’ army and chase them into Austria. After Napoleon captured Vienna on May 12 he went in search of Charles’ army that was still largely in tact. He crossed the Danube, but his forces were destroyed by the Austrian army and the quick wit of the Austrian Archduke.

On the night of July 4 and 5 Napoleon crossed 150,000 French troops across the Danube River. During initial maneuvering of both sides artillery bombardments urged the troops to battle. In an attempt to finish the battle before Austrian reinforcements could arrive, Napoleon called for numerous assaults on the Austrian center that were bloodily repulsed and followed by fierce Austrian counterattacks. After swaying back and forth the battle inevitably reached a climax when General MacDonald took 8,000 troops and attacked the Austrian center. They could not penetrate the heavy fire, but the Austrian inability to reinforce their left flank caused them to evacuate the position.

Napoleon looks on at the battle of Wagram

July 4

July 4, 1187 - Battle of Hattin

After initial conquests and control over numerous cities in the "Holy land", Crusader armies collided with combined Muslim forces at the Battle of Hattin. The Muslim Saladin had been made vizier in Egypt in 1169 and was able to unite all kingdoms surrounding the Christian held Kingdom of Jerusalem. By 1187 Saladin had amassed forces enough to attack Crusader forces in the Kingdom of Jarusalem, but he knew he could not victor over enemy defenses.

Saladin lay siege to a Christian held city to lure the remaining Crusader army under the leadership of Guy of Lusignan to an open field at Hattin. On the night of July 3rd the Crusaders fait was sealed as Guy decided a march far too long for his columns. Saladin's troops had been slowing down Frankish troops with harassing attacks, but his main assault on July 3rd came against the Frankish rearguard. The Crusaders camped with no supplies surrounded by Saladin's forces.

In the morning Saladin's forces attacked and within hours had destroyed all of the Crusader forces. The battle signified one of the last defeats of the Christian army in the kingdom of Jerusalem before the third crusade is called in 1189.

Saladin accepts the surrender of Guy de Lusignan and the Christian armies following the Battle of Hattin

July 4, 1610 - Battle at Klushino

In 1610 the Russian Prince Dmitry Shuisky headed towards the besieged city of Smolensk with a force of 35 - 40,000 Russians and 5 - 10,000 mercenary troops (mainly from Finland and Sweden, but also consisting of German, British, and French elements). Opposing him were 6,800 troops under Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. The 6,800 troops were of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth and were largely (80%) special cavalry called "winged Hussars".
The Polish-Lithuanian cavalry attempted a surprise attack, but were discovered. Russian fortifications were quickly in place and the ensuing battle became exceedingly brutal in nature. After almost 8-10 cavalry charges, rumors within the Russian natives that the mercenaries were defecting to the Polish-Lithuanian army caused a large-scale rout. Once Russian and mercenary troops were back to their seperate camps, they were surrounded and offered terms of surrender (even though they still outnumbered the inferior, and now exhausted, force of Polish-Lithuanian Hussars). The main Russian army was allowed to retreat and the mercenaries were forced to disband and return home. The Polish-Lithuanian forces looted all the supplies from both camps. The victory sealed the fate for the city of Smolensk, which fell a little less than a year later after a 200-month siege.