« Pumpkin Carving 101 | Main | And Now for Something Completely Superficial »
October 25, 2005
Bands of Brothers
Five hundred ninety years ago on this day (1415 CE*) or there about (for 1563 was a rather short year) the Battle of Agincourt was fought in northern France between the armies of Henry V of England and Charles VI of France during the Hundred Year's War. Some 5000+ French fell defending their homeland to an outnumbered, invading English force; the effective use of the English longbow being credited with closing the gap in the disparate numbers.
Four hundred thirty-nine years later (1854 CE) at the Battle of Balaklava (Ukraine) during the Crimean War would those six hundred, the Light Brigade, ride into that "valley of Death" charging the Russian guns at its far end... only to retire back through the same hellish gauntlet of that valley to return to where they had started their attack; saved from total annihilation by intervention of the French 4th Chasseurs D'Afrique and the British 93rd (Highland) Regiment (the Thin Red Line).
And ninety years beyond that day (1944 CE) did the largest naval engagement in recorded history rage in the Leyte Gulf, Philippines. It would mark the first official day of operations for the Imperial Japanese Navy's Special Attack Force know to Allied forces as kamikaze.
Let us hope that October 25, 2005, is spared any historical footnotes of bloodshed or travesty. And Happy St. Crispin's Day to you.
* CE = Common Era (equiv. to AD)
[UPDATE: On this day in this year (2005 CE), the 2000th casualty in the US led war in Iraq fell.]
Posted by Tacitus at October 25, 2005 01:30 PM