Military History

April 20 in military history

Chris Carter

1861: Col. Robert E. Lee, considered for a top command by Gen. Winfield Scott (whom Lee served as a chief aide during the Mexican-American War), and having just rejected an offer of command in the Confederate Army, reluctantly resigns his commission in the U.S. Army following the secession of his home state of Virginia.

However, in three days Lee will take command of Virginia state forces – one of the first five generals appointed to the Confederate Army.

Meanwhile, Norfolk Navy Yard is abandoned and burned by Union forces to prevent the facility from falling into enemy hands after Virginia’s secession. The Confederates would do the same when they abandon the shipyard in May 1862.

1914: Following the arrest of U.S. sailors in Veracruz and the discovery of an illegal arms shipment from Germany to Gen. Victoriano Huerta’s regime, Pres. Woodrow Wilson obtains Congress’ approval to occupy the Mexican port. The following day, Marines and Naval “Bluejacket” infantry seize the port and, supported by Naval gunfire, take the town. Marines will remain in Veracruz until November.

Marine officers of the 1st Marine Brigade at Veracruz, Mexico in 1914. Second from the left (front row) is the “Marine’s Marine,” Col. John A. Lejeune; second from the right is two-time Medal of Honor recipient, Maj. Smedley D. Butler.

This date also marks the first-ever combat deployment of a Naval aviation unit: Lt. John H. Towers, 1st Lt. Bernard L. Smith (USMC), and Ens. Godfrey deC. Chevalier, 12 enlisted support personnel, and three planes board the cruiser USS Birmingham and sail for Tampico.

1918: In the skies over France, German pilot Manfred von Richtofen – the infamous “Red Baron” – guns down two Sopwith Camels of the Royal Air Force’s No. 3 Squadron within three minutes, scoring what will be his final two kills.

The next day, Richtofen (who began the war as a cavalry officer) is shot down and killed. The Australian fighter squadron credited with shooting the German ace down gives Richtofen a full military funeral. Over the course of the war, the Red Baron shoots down an incredible 80 planes – the most victories by any pilot in World War I.

1945: After five days of perhaps the most fierce urban combat of the war, the 7th Army captures Nuremberg. The Stars and Stripes are raised over Adolf Hitler Platz, the site of Nazi party rallies, on the Führer’s 56th birthday.

Soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division march down the streets of a devastated Nuremberg. In January a massive bombing attack wiped out virtually all of the city.

1947: U.S. Navy Capt. L.O. Fox accepts the surrender – in fact the last formal surrender of World War II – of Lt. Ei Yamaguchi and 26 Japanese soldiers and sailors on the island of Peleliu. After the Japanese holdouts attack the island’s Marine Corps detachment in March, a Japanese admiral had to be flown in to convince Yamaguchi that the war had ended nearly two years ago.

2007: With U.S. military airlift assets stretched to the maximum, a Russian An-124 “Condor” lands at Moffett Air Field (Calif.) to transport the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing and their HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters to Afghanistan.

Leave a Reply