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From: "Sally Rolls Pavia" <>
Subject: Today in History, May 20
Date: Sat, 20 May 2006 10:49:47 -0700
1778 ~~ Battle of Barren Hill, Pennsylvania
On this day in 1778, British forces from Philadelphia attempt to trap 2,200
Continentals defending Valley Forge led by Marquis de Lafayette. Lafayette,
through skillful maneuvering, avoids the entrapment and the destruction of
his forces. The encounter takes place at Barren Hill, now known as Lafayette
Hill, just northwest of Philadelphia.
Washington had dispatched Lafayette and his men two days before to spy on
the British in Philadelphia. The British learned of Lafayettes mission and
intended to surprise, surround and capture the encampment with a force of 7
000 to 8,000 men. Lafayette, in turn, learned of the British plan late on
May 19.
Lafayette assigned 500 men and approximately 50 Oneida Indians armed with
cannon to face the British onslaught and stand their ground by the local
church, while the rest of Lafayettes forces fled west over the Schuylkill
River to safety. Before the Oneida warriors followed the Continental Army
across the Schuylkill, they are believed to have bravely given chase to the
British as they marched back to Philadelphia.
Lafayette, a Frenchman, had personally recruited the Oneida to join the
Patriot cause by using the Indians preference for the French over the
English; the Oneida arrived at Valley Forge on May 13. Lafayette promised
the Oneida that they would serve under French instead of colonial Patriot
commanders and that they would be given assistance in building a fort at
their Mohawk Valley, New York, settlement.
These fresh Indian recruits were paired with Lafayettes best Patriot
fighters, fresh from training under European officers at Valley Forge. The
Indians actions during the successful retreat at Barren Hill prevented
disaster and allowed the Continental Army to emerge from Valley Forge as a
disciplined military in June.
1915 ~~ British renew attacks in Battle of Festubert
On May 20, 1915, British, Canadian and Indian troops launch a new round of
attacks against a reinforced German line around the village of Festubert,
located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front.
The Battle of Festubert formed part of the large-scale Artois Offensive
spearheaded by Joseph Joffre, commander in chief of the French forces.
Launched by British commander Sir Douglas Haig after pressure applied to the
British Expeditionary Force (BEF) by Joffre, Festubert marked the BEF's
second attack of the offensive, after a largely unsuccessful assault on May
9 at Neuve Chapelle.
A four-day-long artillery bombardment of the German positions by over 400
Allied guns firing over 100,000 shells preceded the attack on Festubert.
Although the bombardment failed to cause significant damage to the German
front line, the initial attack, conducted by two predominately Indian
divisions in fair weather conditions on the night of May 15, advanced
rapidly, as the German Sixth Army (commanded by Crown Prince Rupprecht)
retreated to positions directly in front of the village of Festubert.
The British 2nd and 7th divisions continued the attacks on May 16, but
within two days had to be withdrawn due to heavy losses. On May 18, under
heavy rain, Canadian troops began another onslaught, but were forced to
retreat under heavy German artillery fire. The Allied troops hurried to
build trenches to consolidate the small gains made so far, as the German
command sent a fresh injection of reserves to reinforce their lines.
On May 20, the Allies renewed the attacks at Festubert; over the next four
days, they were able to capture the village from the Germans, a position
that would be held by the Allies until the final German spring offensive in
1918. Still, by the time the Allied command called off the attacks on May 27
the Battle of Festubert had resulted in gains of less than one kilometer of
territoryat a cost of 16,000 Allied casualties.
1940 ~~ Germans break through to English Channel at Abbeville, France
On this day in 1940, the German army in northern France reaches the English
Channel.
In reaching Abbeville, German armored columns, led by General Heinz Guderian
(a tank expert), severed all communication between the British Expeditionary
Force (BEF) in the north and the main French army in the south. He also cut
off the Force from its supplies in the west. The Germans now faced the sea,
England in sight. Winston Churchill was prepared for such a pass, having
already made plans for the withdrawal of the BEF (the BEF was a home-based
army force that went to northern France at the start of both World Wars in
order to support the French armies) and having called on the British
Admiralty to prepare "a large number of vessels" to cross over to France if
necessary. With German tanks at the Channel, Churchill prepared for a
possible invasion of England itself, approving a plan to put into place gun
posts and barbed wire roadblocks to protect government offices in Whitehall
as well as the prime minister's dwelling, 10 Downing Street.
1969 ~~ Battle for Hamburger Hill ends
After 10 days and 10 bloody assaults, Hill 937 in South Vietnam is finally
captured by U.S. And South Vietnamese troops. The Americans who fought there
cynically dubbed Hill 937 "Hamburger Hill" because the battle and its high
casualty rate reminded them of a meat grinder.
Located one mile east of the Laotian border, Hill 937 was ordered taken as
part of Operation Apache Snow, a mission intended to limit enemy
infiltration from Laos that threatened Hue to the northeast and Danang to
the southeast. On May 10, following air and artillery strikes, a U.S.-led
infantry force launched its first assault on the North Vietnamese stronghold
but suffered a high proportion of casualties and fell back. Ten more
infantry assaults came during the next 10 days, but Hill 937's North
Vietnamese defenders did not give up their fortified position until May 20.
Almost 100 Americans were killed and more than 400 wounded in taking the
hill, amounting to a shocking 70 percent casualty rate.
The same day that Hamburger Hill was finally captured, Senator Edward
Kennedy of Massachusetts called the operation "senseless and irresponsible"
and attacked the military tactics of President Richard Nixon's
administration. His speech before the Senate was seen as part of a growing
public outcry over the U.S. Military policy in Vietnam. U.S. Military
command had ordered Hill 937 taken primarily as a diversionary tactic, and
on May 28 it was abandoned. This led to further outrage in America over what
seemed a senseless loss of American lives. North Vietnamese forces
eventually returned and re-fortified their original position.
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