Military History Now

On this day in 1814, a defeated Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on Elba to begin his exile. Just 289 days later, he'll escape and attempt to rebuild his shattered empire.

Today in 1982, the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Exocet missile fired from an Argentine Super Étendard jet. Although the weapon is reportedly a dud, its unspent fuel touches off a blaze that guts the warship. 20 are killed two dozen are wounded.

@BallardRon48472 Yes, we know. We were astounded by the silly headline

@MilHistNow Those weren't targets Those were called roundels, which identified the aircraft as RAF

After we get the answer to this question, they should tell us what the big twirly-whirly spinning things on the front of the planes are called.😐

The Battle of Texel – Inside the Deadly German Army Mutiny That Continued Well After VE-Day “The 45-day standoff is now remembered as the final battle of the Second World War in Europe.” See: militaryhistorynow.com/2020/05/17/the…

Civilians surrounding a Sherman tank of the 4th Canadian Armoured Division during the liberation of Hilversum, the Netherlands on May 7th, 1945. Throughout April and May 1945, Canadian and other Allied forces were enthusiastically welcomed by the Dutch people, freed from almost five years of German occupation. Joyous crowds thronged the streets and mobbed liberating forces in what came to be known as the “Sweetest Spring.” credit: Canadian War Museum

Today in 1915, a Canadian army doctor named John McCrae pens one of the best-known poems about WW1 during a lull in the fighting at Ypres: "In Flanders Fields" This 1990s 'Heritage Minute' short often ran in Canadian theatres before movies. Remember it? youtube.com/watch?v=1ZDme9…

On this day in 1808, the French army in Madrid ruthlessly puts down a two-day revolt by civilians resisting the occupation. The 'Dos de Mayo Uprising' is later commemorated in paintings by the artist Francisco de Goya.

@ron_eisele It was a regular at early 90s airshows in Canada

3 May 1983. The Canadian Armed Forces officially accepted the first of their Canadair-built CC-144 Challenger jets for service with RCAF 412 (Transport) Squadron at CFB Ottawa (Uplands).

@Ronzabonzz Yeah, it seems to be pretty well established. Look it up

@MilHistNow You sure his own troops shot him accidentally?

On this day in 1863, Stonewall Jackson is mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville. His own sentries mistake him for a Union officer in the darkness and open fire.

On this day in 2012, MilitaryHistoryNow.com is founded. The site soon rolls out its popular 'on this day in history' posts on Twitter. Fourteen years and 205,000+ followers later, MHN is still at it. Thanks for sticking with us.

On this day in 1945, the Soviet Union announces that Berlin has fallen to the Red Army. The battle to capture the German capital lasted 17 days and generated nearly a million casualties, including more than 125,000 civilian dead.

This famous shot of the Soviet flag being unfurled over Berlin on May 2, 1945 was photo-edited to remove what appeared to show wristwatches being worn on both arms of one soldier. Political leaders wanted to avoid the suggestion that Red Army troops were looters.

On this day in 1982, the Royal Navy submarine HMS Conqueror torpedoes the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano in the South Atlantic. More than 320 perish in the attack.

@NittanyNole96 @PeterBurnsESPN Confirmed

@PeterBurnsESPN Here’s the social media lesson: there are a bunch of fucking assholes out there who either actually believe the stupid racist shit they spew or just want to troll and create division. Either way, fuck ‘em.

Fascinating example of how social media works today… (LONG POST) Saw a display in the BHM airport honoring the Tuskegee Airmen. Like 99.999% of Americans, I’m Team 🇺🇸… especially over Nazis. Posted it. Most responses were what you’d expect likes, RTs, patriotism. Then the algorithm shifted. Started seeing a wave of replies saying: “Tuskegee success was a myth. Just PR. DEI BS” The argument? They had fewer aerial kills than other escort groups, so therefore it was all BS. So I paused and did a real deep dive looked for actual historical data from the official Air Force accounts and historians. Here’s what I found…. They were right. They did have less aerial kills the other fighter groups. However….. The SAME data being used to discredit them tells a completely different story if you read the whole reports. Yes, they had fewer kills. But here’s the data that they omitted: Bombers lost under escort (same theater, same aircraft): • Tuskegee Airmen: 27 • Other groups: ~49, 68, 88 That’s not spin. That’s the mission. Escort fighters weren’t there to run up kill counts, they were there to protect bombers. And by that measure, the 332nd was one of the most effective groups in the war. Why did they have less aerial kills? Was it because they were less skilled? Historians pointed out the 332nd was known for staying disciplined and stuck with the bombers while others groups tended to often peel off chasing kills. So both things can be true: • Fewer kills • More bombers protected But here’s the social media lesson: Same report. Same data. One side cherry-picks “lowest kills” = “they weren’t good” But they “conveniently” left out the part where they protected bombers better than anyone. What I observed? 2 things. 1) Most of the accounts pushing the “myth” angle? Burner accounts, fake names…,people that hid behind a vague account names 2) Setting the record straight wasn’t the goal of the “myth” posters, it was for them to get their personal beliefs off without the actual information they claimed to have used. Anyway… Team America 🇺🇸🫡

RIGHT NOW in 2011, U.S. Navy SEALs storm an Al Qaeda compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan and kill Osama bin Laden. The SEALs report bin Laden's death with the code: "For God and country—Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo." Visuals are streamed live to the White House situation room.

On this day in 1898, the U.S. Navy hammers the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay. It's the first major clash between the two powers since the outbreak of war 10 days earlier.