The Belgian town was defended by the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, which had to be reinforced by troops who straggled in from other battlefields. Rough Guides : Travel the Liberation Route Europe. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The U.S. entry into the war in April 1917 ...read more, On December 26, the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst is sunk by British warships in the Arctic after decoded German naval signals reveal that the Scharnhorst is on a mission to attack an Anglo-American convoy to Russia. The disintegration of the German defenses allowed Patton and his Third Army to launch their daring march east in a lightening sweep across Northern France. On one raid, Patton and troops of the 6th Infantry regiment ambushed a Villista outpost and killed Julio Carednas and two of his guards. The Germans feared his skill and bravura. Johnson, who held the heavyweight title until 1915, was reviled by whites for his defiance ...read more, Mobster Bugsy Siegel opens the glitzy Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on December 26, 1946. It is widely believed that she was killed in connection with her lifelong crusade against poaching. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. He quickly worked his way out of the mailroom, however, and before he turned 30 he was ...read more, At approximately 8 a.m. on the morning of December 26, 1776, General George Washington’s Continental Army reaches the outskirts of Trenton, New Jersey, and descends upon the unsuspecting Hessian force guarding the city. 8 Things You May Not Know About the Battle of the Bulge. Therefore he was put in charge of the fictional 1st U.S. Army Group, a successful ruse to convince the Germans that the invasion of Europe would take place in Calais, and not in Normandy. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. The exploits of the Third Army would propel Patton into the history books and their feats would only be matched again decades later during the kinetic conflict of the first Gulf War. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. The van was on display but difficult … Your email address will not be published. Like Strategy & Tactics, all feature articles are lavishly illustrated with maps, historic images and supplemental sidebars. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. George Smith Patton was born in California to a privileged family. Trenton’s 1,400 Hessian defenders were still groggy from ...read more, Eight months after the United States enters World War I on behalf of the Allies, President Woodrow Wilson announces the nationalization of a large majority of the country’s railroads under the Federal Possession and Control Act. Promoted through the ranks over the years, Patton came to lead the 7th U.S. Army during the Second World War. Enter “Old Blood and Guts,” General Patton. Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps. A fourth-generation combat Veteran, Kyle retired from the United States Army in 2010. Pancho Villa, a Mexican revolutionary, was causing quite a disturbance on the southern border of the United States. On December 26, 1985, primatologist and conservationist Dr. Dian Fossey is found murdered in her cabin at Karisoke, a research site in the mountains of Rwanda. George S. Patton was the epitome of a military leader. Nevertheless, Brigadier General Anthony C. MacAuliffe met a German surrender demand with a typewritten response of a single word: “Nuts.”. The operation opened up a gap for one of the most daring commanders of American military history to exploit, General George Patton. Hitler’s navy had posed serious threats to convoys shipping ...read more. Then-President Richard Nixon called Truman a man of “forthrightness and integrity” who had a deep respect for the office he held and for the people he served, and who “supported and wisely ...read more, Hoping to recover from bankruptcy with a bold scheme of colonization, Moses Austin meets with Spanish authorities in San Antonio to ask permission for 300 Anglo-American families to settle in Texas. The Exorcist was based on William Peter Blatty’s ...read more, A powerful earthquake off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, on December 26, 2004 sets off a tsunami that wreaks death and devastation across the Indian Ocean coastline. Your email address will not be published. United States General George Patton made his reputation in North Africa and Sicily. His career began during the First World War, when he became the first officer assigned to the new U.S. Army Tank Corps. An animal lover from ...read more, The first day of the first Kwanzaa is celebrated in Los Angeles under the direction of Maulana Karenga, the chair of Black Studies at California State University at Long Beach. Employing a complex and quick-witted strategy wherein he literally wheeled his 3rd Army a sharp 90 degrees in a counterthrust movement, Patton … Since the invasion of Normandy on 6 June, the Allies had been bogged down on this narrow strip of land on the French coast. Launched in 2008, World at War magazine brings the S&T style to a focus on World War II. Depleted German units were easily overcome. Tucker began his career in the auto industry as a mail messenger at General Motors. Bathory was already infamous ...read more, On December 26, 1956, the visionary carmaker Preston Tucker dies of lung cancer.