A Brief History On November 11, 1918, Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car in the forest of Compiègne, France, officially ending fighting at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day in the eleventh month, but fighting did not actually end at that exact time and nor did the war! Digging Deeper Today, Belgium, France, Serbia, and New Zealand commemorate the armistice between the Allies of World War I and Germany. The Commonwealth Nations, except Mozambique, similarly observe Remembrance Day, while the United States honors those who served its armed forces on Veterans Day, both…
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A Brief History On November 10, 1202, despite letters from Pope Innocent III (a much more popular pope than Guilty III) forbidding it and threatening excommunication, Catholic crusaders on the Fourth Crusade began a siege of the Catholic city of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia). Digging Deeper Whereas the First Crusade successfully restored Jerusalem to Christian rule and laid the basis for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, subsequent crusades were far less productive for the crusaders. Jerusalem was lost after the failed Second Crusade. Nor would it be regained during the Third Crusade, even with the participation of Europe’s three most powerful…
A Brief History On November 8, 1520, the Stockholm Bloodbath began, an event that followed the successful invasion of Sweden by Danish forces and resulted in the execution of around 100 people. Digging Deeper In 1520, Sweden was divided between two factions. The first consisted of Swedes who favored a union of Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), a union that had been established in 1397, and the second faction consisting of those Swedes who advocated for Swedish independence. Denmark’s King Christian II launched the invasion of Sweden to maintain the union of Scandinavia. Having succeeded in his military intervention…
A Brief History On November 6, 1632 at the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedes won, but their King, Gustavus Adolphus, died in the battle. Digging Deeper The Thirty Years’ War was probably central Europe’s all-time worst religious war fought between Catholics and Protestants. Around two dozen different European countries and their colonies were involved in the conflict at some time or another from 1618 to 1648. With so many countries involved for so long, it should not be all that surprising that around 8 million soldiers and civilians are counted among the casualties of one…
A Brief History On October 31, 1944, Dr. jur. Erich Göstl, a member of the Waffen SS, was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, to recognize extreme battlefield bravery for losing his face and eyes during the Battle of Normandy during World War II and continuing to fight while blind. Digging Deeper It is easy to dismiss Nazi Germany for its evil war crimes and the popular culture stereotypes of Germans during that dark moment in human history. Indeed, even this article is not intended to offer any praise to that ultimately failed state, but rather to remember…
