Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/News/December 2025/This month in military history
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- 1925 - World War I aftermath: The final Locarno Treaty is signed in London, establishing post-war territorial settlements.
- 1959 - Cold War: the Antarctic Treaty signed setting aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and banning military activity on that continent.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam.
- 1971 - Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray.
- 1805 - War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Austerlitz: French troops under Napoleon decisively defeat a Russo-Austrian force.
- 1859 - Origins of the American Civil War: Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
- 1899 - Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, known as the "Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
- 1942 - World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
- 1950 - Korean War: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ends with a decisive Chinese victory and UN forces are completely expelled from North Korea.
- 1988 - Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.
- 1799 - War of the Second Coalition: Battle of Wiesloch: Austrian Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Sztáray defeats the French at Wiesloch.
- 1854 - Battle of the Eureka Stockade: More than 20 gold miners at Ballarat, Victoria, are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.
- 1912 - Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and Serbia (the Balkan League) sign an armistice with Turkey, ending the two-month long First Balkan War.
- 1944 - The Greek Civil War breaks out in a newly-liberated Greece, between communists and royalists.
- 1953 - The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and the Republic of China, is signed in [Washington, D.C.
- 1971 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: After Pakistan launches airstrikes on Indian airfields, India retaliates by invading East Pakistan.
- 1997 - In Ottawa, Canada, representatives from 121 countries sign a treaty prohibiting manufacture and deployment of anti-personnel landmines. The United States, People's Republic of China, and Russia do not sign the treaty.
- 1110 - First Crusade: The Crusaders conquer Sidon.
- 1259 - Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
- 1676 - Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V of Denmark engages the Swedish army commanded by Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea - At Waynesboro, Georgia, United States forces under Judson Kilpatrick prevent troops led by Confederate Joseph Wheeler from interfering with William T. Sherman's march.
- 1893 - First Matabele War: A patrol of 34 British South Africa Company soldiers is ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors on the Shangani River in Matabeleland.
- 1948 - Chinese Civil War: The SS Kiangya, carrying Nationalist refugees from Shanghai, explodes in the Huangpu River.
- 1950 - Korean War: Jesse L. Brown, the first African-American naval aviator, is killed in action during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.
- 1983 - US Navy aircraft from USS John F. Kennedy and USS Independence attack Syrian missile sites in Lebanon.
- 1408 - Seeking to resubjugate Muscovy, Emir Edigu of the Golden Horde burns areas around the city but fails to take the city itself.
- 1578 - Sir Francis Drake, after sailing through Strait of Magellan, raids Valparaiso.
- 1757 - Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen: Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.
- 1865 - Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
- 1934 - Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Ethiopia, taking four days to capture the city.
- 1941 - In Battle of Moscow Georgy Zhukov launched a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army, with the biggest offensive launched against Army Group Centre.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York, is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
- 1971 - Battle of Gazipur: Pakistani forces defeated as India cedes Gazipur to Bangladesh.
- 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus': Kiev under Daniel of Galicia and Voivode Dmytro falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan.
- 1745 - Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising.
- 1803 - Five French warships attempting to escape the British Blockade of Saint-Domingue are seized, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution.
- 1916 - World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.
- 1939 - Winter War: The Red Army's advance on the Karelian Isthmus is stopped by Finns at the Mannerheim Line in the Battle of Taipale.
- 1991 - Yugoslav Wars: In Croatia, forces of the Yugoslav People's Army bombard Dubrovnik after laying siege there since May.
- 927 - The Sajid emir of Adharbayjan, Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj is defeated and captured by the Qarmatians near Kufa.
- 1776 - Marquis de Lafayette attempts to enter the American military as a major general.
- 1837 - The Battle of Montgomery's Tavern, the only battle of the Upper Canada Rebellion, takes place in Toronto, where the rebels are quickly defeated.
- 1941 - World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor - The Imperial Japanese Navy attacks the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: The government of the Republic of China moves from Nanjing to Taipei.
- 1975 - Indonesia invades East Timor.
- 2024 - Battle of Damascus: Syrian opposition forces enter the Rif Dimashq Governorate, reaching within 20 km of Damascus.
- 1914 - World War I: Battle of the Falkland Islands - The Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee is engaged by the Royal Navy.
- 1941 - World War II: Battle of Hong Kong - The Japanese invade the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong less than 8 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
- 1987 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed.
- 2024 - Damascus falls to rebels after Syrian troops withdraw and president Bashar al-Assad leaves the country as his government collapses. Israel as a result occupies the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
- 536 - Gothic War: The Byzantine general Belisarius enters Rome unopposed; the Gothic garrison flees the capital.
- 730- Battle of Marj Ardabil: The Khazars annihilate an Umayyad army and kill its commander, al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah al-Hakami.
- 1688 - Glorious Revolution: Williamite forces defeat Jacobites at Battle of Reading, forcing James II to flee England.
- 1824 - Battle of Ayacucho: Peruvian nationalists led by Antonio José de Sucre defeat Spanish colonial forces and secure the independence of Peru.
- 1856 - The Iranian city of Bushehr surrenders to British forces.
- 1917 - World War I: British forces under Edmund Allenby capture Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire.
- 1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanking -Japanese troops under the command of Asaka Yasuhiko launch an assault on the Chinese city of Nanjing.
- 1940 - World War II: Operation Compass - British and Indian troops under the command of Richard O'Connor attack Italian forces near Sidi Barrani in Egypt.
- 1508 - League of Cambrai formed as an alliance against Venice between Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon.
- 1665 - The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is founded by Michiel de Ruyter.
- 1864 - William Tecumseh Sherman reaches Savannah, Georgia, the last stop of his "March to the Sea".
- 1877 - Russo-Turkish War: The Russian Army captures Plevna after a 5-month siege. The garrison of 25,000 surviving Turks surrenders.
- 1898- Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict. Spain cedes administration of Cuba to the United States, and the United States agrees to pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines.
- 1941 - Japanese forces land in the Philippines, capture Guam and sink the British ships HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse.
- 1949 - Chinese Civil War: The People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last KMT-held city on mainland China. Chiang Kai-shek flees to Taiwan.
- 1282 - Battle of Orewin Bridge: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri near Builth Wells in mid-Wales.
- 1602 - A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva.
- 1868 - Paraguayan War: Brazilian troops defeat the Paraguayan Army at the Battle of Avay.
- 1899 - Second Boer War: In the Battle of Magersfontein the Boers commanded by general Piet Cronjé inflict a defeat on the forces of the British Empire commanded by Lord Methuen trying to relieve the Siege of Kimberley.
- 1927 - Guangzhou Uprising: Communist militia and worker red guards launch an uprising in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.
- 1994 - First Chechen War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya
- 627 - Battle of Nineveh
- 1781 - American Revolutionary War: The British Royal Navy defeats a French fleet in the Second Battle of Ushant.
- 1937 - Second Sino-Japanese War: Japanese aircraft bomb and sink the gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze river in China.
- 1939 - Winter War: Finland defeats the Soviet Union in the Battle of Tolvajärvi, their first major victory.
- 1941 - World War II: United States seizes the French ship SS Normandie.
- 1643 - English Civil War: The Battle of Alton takes place in Hampshire.
- 1862 - American Civil War: At the Battle of Fredericksburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee defeats the United States Major General Ambrose E. Burnside.
- 1937 - Battle of Nanjing concludes with the Japanese victory and the fall of the city which became the site of the Nanjing Massacre.
- 1939 - World War II: The Battle of the River Plate, the first major naval battle of World War II, begins.
- 1974 - Vietnam War: North Vietnamese forces launch their 1975 Spring Offensive, which results in the final capitulation of South Vietnam.
- 2001 - 2001 Indian Parliament attack: Sansad Bhavan, the building housing the Indian Parliament, is attacked by 5 Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists. Twelve people are killed, including the terrorists.
- 2003 - Iraq War: Operation Red Dawn: Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is captured near his home town of Tikrit.
- 1751 - The Theresian Military Academy is founded in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
- 1812 - The French invasion of Russia comes to an end as the remnants of the Grande Armée are expelled from Russia.
- 1836 - The Toledo War unofficially ends as the "Frostbitten Convention" votes to accept Congress' terms for admitting Michigan as a U.S. state.
- 1940 - Plutonium is first isolated in Berkeley, California.
- 1995 - The Dayton Agreement was signed in Paris to end the Yugoslav wars.
- 2003 - News of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's capture is finally announced.
- 533 - Vandalic War: Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
- 1161 - Jin–Song wars: Military officers conspire against the emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin dynasty after a military defeat at the Battle of Caishi, and assassinate the emperor at his camp.
- 1256 - Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran.
- 1467 - Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at the Battle of Baia.
- 1890 - Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
- 1899 - British Army forces are defeated at the Battle of Colenso in Natal, South Africa, the third and final battle fought during the Black Week of the Second Boer War.
- 1914 - World War I: The Battle of Łódź ends; Russians retreat toward Moscow.
- 1942 - World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal campaign.
- 1943 - World War II: The Battle of Arawe begins during the New Britain campaign.
- 2013 - The South Sudanese Civil War begins when opposition leaders Dr. Riek Machar, Pagan Amum and Rebecca Nyandeng vote to boycott the meeting of the National Liberation Council at Nyakuron.
- 1598 - An outnumbered Korea]n and Ming navy ambush and defeat a Japanese army at the Battle of Noryang Point.
- 1838 - Boers defeat Zulu troops at Battle of Blood River, led by Dambuza and Nhlela, celebrated in South Africa as the day of the vow.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Union troops led by General George Thomas defeat Confederate troops in the Battle of Nashville.
- 1944 - World War II: The Battle of the Bulge begins.
- 1944 - World War II: A V-2 rocket hits the Cine Rex in Antwerp killing 567 people.
- 1971 - The Pakistan Army surrenders, ending the Liberation War of Bangladesh and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
- 1998 - Operation Desert Fox: United States and British troops begin to bomb Iraqi targets after Iraq obstructs UN weapons inspectors.
- 1637 - The Shimabara Rebellion breaks out in Japan.
- 1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.
- 1903 - The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
- 1939 - World War II: German battleship Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff at the Battle of the River Plate.
- 1941 - World War II: German Siege of Sevastopol begins.
- 1944 - Western Defense Command issues proclamation ending requirement of Japanese internment.
- 1944- In what became known as the Malmedy massacre, around 80 American POW are executed by Waffen-SS troops of Jochen Peiper's Kampfgruppe.
- 1947 - First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber.
- 1950 - The F-86 Sabre's first mission over Korea.
- 218 BC - Battle of the Trebia, Hannibal's first great victory over the Roman Republic.
- 1118 - The city of Zaragoza is conquered by king Alfonso I of Aragon from the Almoravid.
- 1916 - World War I: The Battle of Verdun ends.
- 1944 - World War II: XX Bomber Command responds to the Japanese Operation Ichi-Go offensive by dropping five hundred tons of incendiary bombs on Hankow, China.
- 1961 - Indonesia invades New Guinea to annex western New Guinea, formerly known as Netherlands New Guinea.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will engage North Vietnam in Operation Linebacker II, a series of Christmas bombings, after peace talks with North Vietnam collapsed.
- 1981 - First flight of the Russian heavy strategic bomber Tu-160, the world's largest combat aircraft, largest supersonic aircraft and largest variable-sweep wing aircraft built.
- 2005 - The Chadian Civil War begins when rebel groups, allegedly backed by neighbouring Sudan, launch an attack in Adré.
- 1562 - French Wars of Religion: The Battle of Dreux takes place.
- 1777 - George Washington's army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
- 1796 - French Revolutionary Wars: Two British frigates under Commodore Horatio Nelson and two Spanish frigates under Commodore Don Jacobo Stuart engage in battle off the coast of Murcia.
- 1941 - World War II: Limpet mines placed by Italian Navy divers heavily damage HMS Valiant and Queen Elizabeth in Alexandria harbour.
- 1946 - Ho Chi Minh attacks French in Hanoi, starting the First Indochina War.
- 1961 - Indian Army invades the Portuguese province of Estado da India Portuguesa, which is annexed by India.
- 1972 - Apollo program: The last crewed lunar flight, Apollo 17, carrying Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.
- 1522 - Suleiman the Magnificent accepts the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who are allowed to evacuate. They eventually re-settle on Malta and become known as the Knights of Malta.
- 1832 - HMS Clio under the command of Captain James Onslow arrives at Port Egmont under orders to take possession of the Falkland Islands.
- 1915 - World War I: Last Australian troops evacuated from Gallipoli.
- 1941 - World War II: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the "Flying Tigers", in Kunming, China.
- 1960 - National Front for the Liberation of Vietnam is formed.
- 1989 - Operation Just Cause: United States sends troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega.
- 1995 - NATO begins peacekeeping in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 1140 - After a siege of several weeks, the city of Weinsberg and its castle surrender to Conrad III of Germany.
- 1237 - The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan.
- 1361 - The Battle of Linuesa is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaén resulting in a Castilian victory.
- 1598 - Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern
- 1780 - American Revolution: Great Britain declares war on the Netherlands in response to the Dutch joining the League of Armed Neutrality and for assisting the French and American forces.
- 1861 - The Medal of Honor first authorized.
- 1883 - The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.
- 1970 - First flight of Grumman F-14 Tomcat multi-role combat aircraft.
- 1489 - The forces of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, take control of Almería from the Nasrid ruler of Granada, Muhammad XIII.
- 1769 - Sino-Burmese War: The war ends with the Qing dynasty withdrawing from Burma forever.
- 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies
- 1864 - Savannah, Georgia, falls to General William Tecumseh Sherman, concluding his "March to the Sea".
- 1894 - The Dreyfus affair begins in France, when Alfred Dreyfus is wrongly convicted of treason.
- 1944 - People's Army of Vietnam is formed to resist Japanese occupation.
- 1944 - World War II: Battle of the Bulge: Germans demand the surrender of United States troops at Bastogne, Belgium, prompting the one word reply by General Anthony McAuliffe: "Nuts!"
- 1964 - The first test flight of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird takes place at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California.
- 962 - Arab–Byzantine wars: The Sack of Aleppo by Byzantine troops under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas.
- 1299 - The Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan defeats a Mamluk army that opposes his invasion into Syria in the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar near Homs.
- 1598 - Arauco War: The Governor of Chile, Martín García Óñez de Loyola, is killed in the Battle of Curalaba by Mapuches led by Pelantaru.
- 1783 - George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at Annapolis, Maryland.
- 1793 - The Battle of Savenay: A decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution.
- 1916 - World War I: In the Battle of Magdhaba, Allied forces capture a Turkish garrison on the Sinai peninsula.
- 1950 - Korean War: General Walton Walker dies in a jeep accident and is replaced as commander of the Eighth United States Army by General Matthew Ridgway.
- 1976 - A peace agreement is signed in Tripoli, Libya between the Philippine Government and the Moro National Liberation Front.
- 1979 - Soviet invasion of Afghanistan: Soviet military units occupy Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
- 971 - Battle of Ayn Shams: The Fatimids under Jawhar defeat the Qarmatians at the gates of Cairo, putting an end to the First Qarmatian invasion of Egypt.
- 1144 - The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.
- 1737 - The Marathas defeat the combined forces of the Mughal Empire, Rajputs of Jaipur, Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab of Awadh and Nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Bhopal.
- 1715 - Swedish troops occupy Norway.
- 1814 - The Treaty of Ghent is signed, ending the War of 1812.
- 1942 - World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria.
- 1968 - The crew of the USS Pueblo is released by North Korea after being held for 11 months on suspicion of spying.
- AD 36 - Forces of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han, under the command of Wu Han, conquer the separatist Chengjia empire, reuniting China.
- 1066 - William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
- 1100 - Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.
- 1553 - Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
- 1776 - American Revolution: At night, George Washington and his army crosses the Delaware River to launch a surprise attack against the Hessian forces at the Battle of Trenton the next morning.
- 1837 - Battle of Lake Okeechobee - United States forces defeat Seminole Indians.
- 1914 - World War I: The Christmas truce: Just after midnight on Christmas morning, German and British troops on the Western Front cease firing their guns and artillery and sing Christmas carols. Crossing the No man's land, they trade gifts with the enemy forces that face them. They also played a game of soccer with a makeshift soccer ball (fashioned by the Germans) This truce lasts for several days, depending on the location.
- 1941 - World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends. British colonial officials headed by Governor Mark Aitchison Young of Hong Kong surrenders. Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong begins.
- 1962 - The Soviet Union conducts its final above-ground nuclear weapon test, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
- 1481 - Battle of Westbroek: An army of 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers raised by David of Burgundy, Bishop of Utrecht, attacks an armed mob of people from nearby Utrecht who were trying to avenge the massacre of the inhabitants of Westbroek.
- 1704 - Second Battle of Anandpur: In the Second Battle of Anandpur, Aurangzeb's two generals, Wazir Khan and Zaberdast Khan executed two children of Guru Gobind Singh, Zorawar Singh aged eight and Fateh Singh aged five, by burying them alive into a wall.
- 1806 - Battle of Pułtusk - indecisive battle between Napoleon and the Russians.
- 1825 - Advocates of liberalism in Russia rise up against Czar Nicholas I in the Decembrist revolt, but are later suppressed.
- 1862 - Dakota War of 1862: The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history takes place in Mankato, Minnesota, where 38 Native American prisoners are hanged.
- 1943 - The German battleship Scharnhorst sinks off the coast of North Cape in Norway after being attacked by the Royal Navy late the previous evening.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: As part of Operation Linebacker II, 120 American Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers attacked Hanoi, including 78 launched from Andersen Air Force Base on Guam, the largest single combat launch in Strategic Air Command history.
- 1998 - Iraq announced its intention to fire upon US and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern "no-fly zones".
- 1655 - Second Northern War/the Deluge: Monks at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa are successful in fending off a month-long siege.
- 1918 - Beginning of the Greater Poland Uprising; the Poles rise against the Germans.
- 1922 - Japanese aircraft carrier Hōshō becomes the first purpose-built aircraft carrier to be commissioned.
- 1949 - Indonesian National Revolution: The Netherlands officially recognizes Indonesian independence. End of the Dutch East Indies.
- 1979 - The Soviet Union seizes control of Afghanistan and Babrak Karmal replaces overthrown and executed President Hafizullah Amin.
- 1985 - Palestinians kill eighteen people in the airports of Rome and Vienna.
- 1996 - Taliban forces retake the strategic Bagram air base which solidifies their buffer zone around Kabul.
- 2008 - Operation Cast Lead: Israel launches three-week operation on Gaza.
- 1835 - Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States.
- 1941 - Start of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague.
- 1943 - World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division over the German 1st Parachute Division and the capture of the Italian town of Ortona.
- 2006 - War in Somalia: The militaries of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.
- 1503 - The Battle of Garigliano between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo.
- 1812 - USS Constitution, under the command of William Bainbridge, captures HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
- 1835 - The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
- 1860 - The first British seagoing iron-clad warship, HMS Warrior, is launched. With her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, she renders all previous warships obsolete.
- 1890 - Wounded Knee Massacre: United States soldiers massacre over 400 men, women and children of the Great Sioux Nation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.
- 1934 - Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
- 1940 - World War II: Battle of Britain: Luftwaffe firebombs London, killing almost 3,000 civilians.
- 1996 - Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Union sign a peace accord that ends a 36-year civil war.
- AD 999 - Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushing defeat on the allied armies of Leinster and Dublin near Lyons Hill in Ireland.
- 1460 - Wars of the Roses: The Duke of York is defeated at the Battle of Wakefield.
- 1916 - World War I: Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is murdered by a loyalist group led by Prince Felix Yusupov. His frozen, partially-trussed body was discovered in the Neva River three days later.
- 1813 - War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.
- 1862 - USS Monitor sinks off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
- 1997 - In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed.
- 2009 - A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.
- 406 - Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia.
- 535 - Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo, and ending his consulship for the year.
- 870 - Battle of Englefield: The Vikings clash with ealdorman Æthelwulf of Berkshire. The invaders are driven back to Reading; many Danes are killed.
- 1229 - James I of Aragon, enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma de Mallorca), thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island of Mallorca.
- 1501 - The First Battle of Cannanore commences, seeing the first use of the naval line of battle.
- 1775 - American Revolutionary War: British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Quebec.
- 1942 - World War II: The Royal Navy defeats the Kriegsmarine at the Battle of the Barents Sea. This leads to the resignation of Grand Admiral Erich Raeder a month later.
- 1944 - World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major Wehrmacht offensive on the Western Front, begins.
- 1994 - The First Chechen War: The Russian Ground Forces begin the storming of Grozny.
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