A Brief History On August 12, 1914, World War I was merely 2 weeks old and apparently the German and Belgian armies did not yet realize the futility of using mounted cavalry in an age of rapid firing repeating rifles and automatic machine guns. Digging Deeper The Battle of Halen was fought in Belgium between the invading Germans, numbering 4000 cavalry and 200 infantry against 2400 Belgian cavalrymen backed up by 450 bicycle mounted infantry. The Germans intended to speed their way to the Belgian capital of Brussels, led by their silver helmeted cavalry, but the Belgians were smart enough…
Browsing: August 12
A Brief History On August 12, 1676, John Alderman, known as a “Praying Indian” because he was a Native American converted to Christianity, shot and killed Chief Metacomet of the Wampanoag people, thus ending the conflict known as King Phillip’s War. Digging Deeper King Phillip’s War, known also by a bewildering array of other names, including Metacom’s War, The First Indian War, Metacomet’s War, Pometacomet’s Rebellion, and Metacom’s Rebellion, was a conflict that lasted from June 20, 1675 until the death of Metacomet in 1676, although some fighting continued in the Northern areas of British colonies until April of 1678. …
A Brief History August 12, 1915 marks the date of a story – which is not actually just a simple story – which tells of the vanishing of a group of British soldiers during the now infamous Gallipoli campaign, during World War One. Most say that the 5th Norfolk Battalion vanished into thin air. Other versions of this legend say that the soldiers actually walked into thick mist and were then swallowed up, without a single trace. Ever since the men of Sandringham have vanished, theories have been created, as well as a lot of controversies. Naturally, all of those…
A Brief History On August 12, 30 BC, Cleopatra VII Philopator is alleged to have committed suicide by allowing an Asp (a venomous snake of the cobra family) to bite her. (Yes, she was THE Cleopatra.) We used this occasion to publish our article, “10 Famous Suicides,” and today we list another list of those that took their own lives, “5 More Famous Suicides.” We have also addressed the suicide phenomena in our articles “10 More Famous Suicides,” “10 World Leaders that Committed Suicide,” and “The Origins of Dr. Death (Assisted Suicide).” Please note that we do not glorify or…
A Brief History On August 12, 1994, major league baseball players went on strike, ending the 1994 major league baseball season and causing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. Sacrilege! Any labor dispute that cause the cancellation of anything as publicly visible as the World Series is sure to get attention, though labor or protest strikes outside of the sporting world can also be highly visible or even intrusive to the public at large. Today we list “10 Famous Labor or Protest Strikes” that have particular historical interest or consequence. (Note: As denizens of the USA, we tend to…
