TODAY IN MILITARY HISTORY
26 October
◆634 Battle of Ubaid: Persians defeat the Moslem Arabs.
◆1774 Minutemen were selected in the American colonies.
◆1787 "Federalist Papers," a series of articles written under the pen name of Publius by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, were published and called for ratification of Constitution.
◆1813 Invading Canada from Lake Champlain, American General Wayne Hampton advanced down the Chateaugay River against defenses established by General Sir George Prevost. An American detachment under Colonel Robert Purdy was repulsed by Canadian militia led by Colonel Charles-Michel Salaberry, forcing Hampton to withdraw and later resign his commission.
◆1861 The Pony Express ended after 18 months of operation.
◆1864 "Bloody Bill" Anderson, Confederate guerilla, is killed.
◆1889 Marine Barracks was established at Naval Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
◆1921 In first successful test, a compressed air, turntable catapult, launches an N-9 seaplane. This type of catapult was later installed on battleships, replacing turret-mounted platforms for launching aircraft.
◆1922 LCDR Godfrey deC. Chevalier makes first landing aboard a carrier (USS Langley) while underway off Cape Henry, Virginia.
◆1940 ParaMarines organize at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Two Marine parachute operations were planned during the war in the Pacific, but were both cancelled. The only combat jump by the Paramarines was in Southern France when a group of Marines jumped as part of an Office of Startegic Services (OSS) team to aid the French Resistance. For the remainder of the war, the Paramarines were employed as regular infantry in the Pacific. In 1944 the Regiment was disbanded when it was decided the need for airborne Marines were no longer needed.
◆1942 The Battle of Santa Cruz. Both American and Japanese forces launch at dawn. Two hours later the Japanese attack reach and seriously damages the USS Hornet. Both attacks have been launched at the extreme edge of the aircrafts' range and the Japanese have the advantage as their range is longer. When the American planes find part of the Japanese force, there is not enough fuel left for an organized attack, however, the cruiser Chikuma of Admiral Abe's Vanguard Group is damaged. The remainder of the planes attack the carrier Shokaku and damage it heavily. A second wave of Japanese attackers severely damages the USS Enterprise but many of the planes are shot down by the antiaircraft guns of the South Dakota. The third wave of Japanese planes from the Junyo suffer the same fate. Enough though the Enterprise is made partially operational, Admiral Kinkaid decides to withdraw. The battle is considered a Japanese victory. The damaged USS Enterprise is now the only American carrier in the Pacific. However, the victory is costly as again loss of Japanese aircrew is high and the lost of aircraft has removed the effectiveness of the undamaged aircraft carrier Zuikaku. The loss of planes and crew also mean that no attack on Henderson Field airstrip is possible.
◆1944 US 7th Army continues to fight for St. Die.
◆1944 On land, elements of US 24th Corps unsuccessfully attack Japanese positions on Catmon Hill, north of Dulag. The defenders fall back after the battle. Japanese reinforcements arrive at Ormoc. At sea, American air attacks continue to harass the retiring Japanese squadrons. Three Japanese cruisers are sunk.
◆1944 Special Task Air Group One makes last attack in month long demonstration of TDR drone missile against Japanese shipping and islands in the Pacific. Of 46 missiles fired, 29 reached their target areas.
◆1950 U.S. Amphibious Force Seventh Fleet lands 1st Marine Division at Wonsan, Korea
◆1950 A reconnaissance platoon for a South Korean division reached the Yalu River. They were the only elements of the U.N. force to reach the river before the Chinese offensive pushed the whole army down into South Korea. The ROK 1st and 6th ROK Infantry Divisions captured the first Chinese prisoners of the Korean War. The prisoners reported that the units of the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) 40th and 56th Army had crossed into Korea in the past two weeks. The ROK 6th Infantry Division reached the Yalu River at Chosan.
◆1962 JFK warned Russia that the US would not allow Soviet missiles to remain in Cuba. Nikita Khrushchev sent note to JFK offering to withdraw his missiles from Cuba if US closed its bases in Turkey. The offer was rejected. A boarding party from the Pierce and Kennedy executed the first quarantine interdiction of the Marucla. A tanker, the Groznyy is placed under aerial surveillance. Three more Soviet ships en route to Cuba were reported to have changed course and were returning to their ports of departure. They were the Vishnevsky, Okhotsk, and Sergev Botkin. Later in the day, Lawrence and MacDonough were shadowing Groznyy. The tanker had several cylindrical tanks topside and had declared them to contain ammonia.
◆1963 USS Andrew Jackson (SSBN-619) launches first Polaris A-3 missile from a submerged submarine, off Cape Canaveral, Florida.
◆1966 A fire breaks out on board the 42,000-ton U.S. aircraft carrier Oriskany in the Gulf of Tonkin.
◆1968 The 1st Infantry Division troops are attacked in Binh Long Province (III Corps), 60 miles north of Saigon near the Cambodian border. Communist forces launched a mortar, rocket, and ground attack against Fire Support Base (FSB) Julie, eight miles west of An Loc. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry, manned the FSB. U.S. B-52s conducted 22 strikes over the area in an effort to disperse a reported massing of North Vietnamese forces. The defenders were successful in fending off the Communist attack but eight soldiers were killed and 33 were wounded.
◆1972 Igor Sikorsky (83), Russian-born helicopter pioneer, died.
◆1998 In Kosovo Serb forces appeared to be withdrawing under the threat of NATO air strikes.