Today in History

November 23 in U.S. military history

1863:The battles of the Chattanooga campaign begin between newly appointed commander of the Western armies, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, and Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg.

Within days, Union Army​ forces will attack and capture Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain, and the Confederate works on Missionary Ridge​. The “Gateway to the Lower South” will open, and within a year, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman​ will pass through the “gateway” en route to Atlanta.

1943: Japanese-held Tarawa falls to American forces despite the boast of its defending commander, Rear Adm. Keiji Shibasaki​, that “a million men could not take Tarawa in a hundred years.” It takes several thousand Marines and about 76 hours to seize Tarawa (featured image). 100 miles to the north, Makin Island is also declared secure.

1944: The Seventh Army, commanded by Gen. Alexander Patch, captures Strasbourg, France. 40 miles to the west, 1st Lt. Edward A. Silk charges 150 yards across open terrain to single-handedly silence a German machine-gun position that had halted his battalion near Moyenmoutier. Lt. Silk then neutralizes a second machine gun nest, then captures a dozen German soldiers who were firing from a farmhouse. For his near-suicidal attack he is awarded the Medal of Honor.

Silk

1972: Peace talks between the US and North Vietnam secretly resume in Paris, but quickly reach an impasse.

3 thoughts on “November 23 in U.S. military history

  • Ronnie D SR

    “A Marine from 1st Marine Division uses a flamethrower to clear a path through what was once a thick jungle in Tarawa – 1943” There was no ‘jungle’ on Tarawa. It was a flat island covered in palm trees. I’ve seen many pictures of the Marines on Tarawa and never saw that one. That picture looks like Okinawa.

  • guillermo carlo

    1961: The world’s first nuclear-powered ship, the USS Constitution (CVN-65) is commissioned.

    it was the USS Enterprise (CVN 65).

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