U.S. Army Center of Military History

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07/23/2026

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23 JULY 1942 – PAPUA CAMPAIGN BEGINS - WWIILasting from 23 July 1942 to 23 January 1943, the Papuan Campaign was one of ...
07/23/2026

23 JULY 1942 – PAPUA CAMPAIGN BEGINS - WWII

Lasting from 23 July 1942 to 23 January 1943, the Papuan Campaign was one of the early Allied offensives of World War II in the Pacific; its aim was to defend Papua, the southernmost of the two Australian-administered territories in New Guinea, from the Japanese, who intended to use it as a springboard to invade Australia.

After Japanese seaborne attempts to take Port Moresby (Papua’s largest port) were repulsed by the Allies at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May and Milne Bay in August 1942, the enemy attempted an overland invasion.

Japanese troops crossed the Owen Stanley Mountains from their bases in the Buna-Gona area on the northern coast of the Papuan peninsula and advanced to within 30 miles of Port Moresby by mid-September.

General Douglas MacArthur, commander of Allied forces in the Southwest Pacific Area, sent Australian reinforcements to drive the invaders back in the Kokoda Track Campaign, a bloody jungle slog which succeeded pushing the enemy back to their coastal enclaves.

Before the campaign ended, MacArthur committed two Australian divisions, the U.S. Army's 32d "Red Arrow" Infantry Division and the separate 163d Regimental Combat Team in the effort to eject the Japanese from the peninsula.

Japanese positions at Gona and Buna were respectively captured by the Australians on 9 December 1942 and the U.S. 32d Infantry Division on 2 January 1943. The 163d Infantry, attached to the Australian 7th Division, participated in the battle of Sanananda, capture of which ended the campaign on 23 January.

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22 JULY 1864 - BATTLE OF ATLANTA BEGINS - CIVIL WARUnion forces under Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman battered back a...
07/22/2026

22 JULY 1864 - BATTLE OF ATLANTA BEGINS - CIVIL WAR

Union forces under Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman battered back a Confederate attack as they advanced on Atlanta, and subsequently laid siege to the critical city.

In the spring of 1864, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all U.S. armies, ordered five, simultaneous offensives to press Confederates all along their frontier. Grant recognized that the Confederates could not win a war of attrition, and he instilled in his commanders the need to exhaust the resources of the Rebels by destroying their armies.

Grant assigned his friend Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to command the fifth advance against Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s army. Johnston was charged with defending Atlanta, the largest industrial, logistical, and administrative center outside of Richmond. Atlanta was at the junction of four railroads that connected all remaining Confederate-held territory east of the Mississippi River.

By early July, Johnston had fallen back into the defenses of Atlanta. Frustrated by Johnston’s lack of aggressiveness, President Jefferson Davis replaced him with Lt. Gen. John B. Hood on July 18. Within days, Hood launched two attacks on Sherman—one at Peach Tree Creek on July 20 and the other along the Georgia Railroad (known as the Battle of Atlanta) on July 22. Both ended in defeat and led to the fall of Atlanta in September.

The capture of such a valuable Confederate stronghold boosted Northern morale, helped ensure the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln in November, and precipitated the downfall of the Confederacy.

U.S. Army

21 JULY – 10 AUGUST 1944 – LIBERATION OF GUAM (SECOND BATTLE OF GUAM) - WWII In late-July 1944, U.S. Army and Marine Cor...
07/21/2026

21 JULY – 10 AUGUST 1944 – LIBERATION OF GUAM (SECOND BATTLE OF GUAM) - WWII

In late-July 1944, U.S. Army and Marine Corps units began liberating the island of Guam, an American sovereign overseas territory which had been under Japanese occupation since the early days of U.S involvement in World War II in late-1941.

The invasion was spearheaded by Marine Corps Lieutenant General Roy Geiger's III Amphibious Corps, composed of the 3d Marine Division, the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, and the U.S. Army 77th Infantry Division. Initial landings by the 3d Marine Division and 1st Provisional Marine Brigade on 21 July quickly established beachheads on the Orote Peninsula, advancing about a mile inland by nightfall.

The 77th Infantry Division's soldiers began landing that afternoon, wading several hundred yards to shore when their landing craft reached the reef. By 2130, the 305th Regimental Combat Team had landed to reinforce the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade against an expected counterattack.

The next day, the regiment took over part of the brigade sector as the rest of the 77th Division landed and expanded the beachhead. Army patrols with indigenous Chamorro scouts determined that enemy forces had evacuated the southern third of Guam, so Geiger oriented his attack northward toward the mountainous two-thirds of the island, with the 3d Marine Division advancing on the left and 77th Infantry Division on the right.

The terrain grew more formidable as the Americans moved north, creating gaps between units while heavy rains caused communications and logistical difficulties. The Japanese tried to anchor their defenses on Mount Barrigada, but American tanks punched through before they dug in.

By 4 August the 77th Division had captured Mount Barrigada, and U.S. forces continued to eliminate small enemy mobile units and defensive pockets until resistance was declared over on 10 August. While U.S. forces suffered 1,700 killed and about 6,000 wounded, over 18,000 Japanese defenders were killed.

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21 JULY 1861 - FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN (MANASSAS) - CIVIL WARThe first major land battle of the American Civil War was ...
07/21/2026

21 JULY 1861 - FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN (MANASSAS) - CIVIL WAR

The first major land battle of the American Civil War was fought on 21 July 1861 between about 28,450 U.S. and 32,230 rebel troops at Bull Run Creek, about thirty miles southwest of Washington, D.C.

With the 90-day limit on state militia called into federal service by the president about to expire, the U.S. government had to take military action. On 16 July, the untried U.S. Army of Northeastern Virginia, commanded by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, marched from Washington to do battle against the equally untried Confederate Army of the Potomac, commanded by Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, and Army of the Shenandoah, commanded by Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. The rebels were drawn up behind Bull Run west of Centreville, Virginia.

On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the rebel left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as rebel forces were driven back to Henry Hill. Confederate reinforcements of one brigade, arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley, extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious, the rebels were too disorganized to pursue.

The U.S. forces lost an estimated 2,950 men. The rebels suffered about 1,750 casualties, including brigade commanders Brigadier General Barnard Bee and Colonel Francis Bartow, who were killed. The defeated Union army reached the safety of Washington by 22 July.

The battle convinced the administration of President Abraham Lincoln that the war would be long, costly, and require a mass army of citizen-soldiers. McDowell was relieved and replaced by Major General George B. McClellan, who set about reorganizing and training what became the Army of the Potomac, the major U.S. field army in the Eastern Theater of Operations for the duration of the war.

U.S. Army

20 JULY 1864 - BATTLE OF PEACH TREE CREEK - CIVIL WARAs Union forces advanced towards Atlanta, they fended off a Confede...
07/20/2026

20 JULY 1864 - BATTLE OF PEACH TREE CREEK - CIVIL WAR

As Union forces advanced towards Atlanta, they fended off a Confederate attack at Peach Tree Creek, northwest of the city.

It was the first major attack by Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood since taking command of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. The attack was against Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman's Union army, which was located just northwest of Atlanta.

After confusion and miscommunication, the Confederate attack was finally mounted at around four o'clock in the afternoon. On the Confederate right, Hardee's men ran into fierce opposition and were unable to make much headway, with the Southerners suffering heavy losses. The failure of the attack was largely due to faulty ex*****on and a lack of pre-battle reconnaissance.

On the Confederate left, Stewart's attack was more successful. Two Union brigades were forced to retreat, and most of the 33rd New Jersey Infantry Regiment (along with its battle flag) were captured by the Rebels, as was a 4-gun Union artillery battery. Union forces counterattacked and after a bloody struggle, successfully blunted the Confederate offensive. Artillery helped stop the Confederate attack on Thomas' left flank.

By the end of the day the rebels had failed to break through anywhere along the line. Hood withdrew into defenses of Atlanta the following day, 21 July.

U.S. Army

19 JULY 1863 - BATTLE OF BUFFINGTON ISLAND - CIVIL WARAs Morgan’s Raid marauded across Ohio, Union troops dealt the Conf...
07/19/2026

19 JULY 1863 - BATTLE OF BUFFINGTON ISLAND - CIVIL WAR

As Morgan’s Raid marauded across Ohio, Union troops dealt the Confederate raiders a decisive defeat near the Ohio River.

The largest battle in Ohio during the war, Buffington Island led to the end of John Morgan’s 1,100-mile raid into the Ohio River Valley.

After three and a half hours of fighting, John Morgan and his remaining raiders retreated from the area after sustaining heavy losses. After eight days, Morgan surrendered his forces on July 26, 1863, near Salineville, Ohio.

Morgan's Raid was of little military consequence, merely terrorizing the populations of southern and eastern Ohio and neighboring Indiana.

U.S. Army

18 JULY – 6 AUGUST 1918 – AISNE-MARNE OFFENSIVE - WWIWith the recent German Champagne-Marne offensive blunted, the Frenc...
07/18/2026

18 JULY – 6 AUGUST 1918 – AISNE-MARNE OFFENSIVE - WWI

With the recent German Champagne-Marne offensive blunted, the French high command planned a general attack to eliminate the enemy pe*******on of the allied line, issuing orders for five armies to reduce the Marne salient with a converging attack.

The battle was joined on 18 July, when two U.S. (the 1st and 2d Divisions) and three French divisions of the Tenth Army initiated an assault on the left flank of the salient. Taken by surprise, German front line forces initially yielded ground to the Allied advance.

Despite stiffening resistance, the Allies achieved a pe*******on of about three miles the first day. The 1st and 2d Divisions suffered 10,000 casualties by the time they were relieved on 19 and 22 July, respectively. Despite their losses, they succeeded in making the enemy position at Soissons untenable, capturing between 6 and 7 miles of ground and 6,500 prisoners.

Meanwhile, other French armies made important advances as well, forcing a general German retreat from the Marne salient. The French Sixth Army, which by 28 July included the U.S. 3d, 4th, 28th, and 42d Divisions, advanced from the southwest to reach the Vesle River on 3 August. Significantly, the 4th and 42d Divisions fought as part of the recently established I Corps, the first U.S. corps HQ to participate in combat operations.

The U.S. III Corps HQ took control of the 28th and 32d Divisions (the latter having replaced the 3d Division) on 29 July and entered combat on 4 August. By 5 August, the two U.S. corps held the entire French Sixth Army front.

The Aisne-Marne Offensive was over by 6 August, having successfully eliminated the Marne Salient and the last German threat to Paris. The campaign demonstrated the fighting qualities of the 270,000 American soldiers involved, and the excellent performance of U.S. troops in the Aisne-Marne Offensive justified General John J. Pershing's insistence on the formation of an independent American Army.

U.S. Army

18 JULY 1863 – SECOND BATTLE OF FORT WAGNER (ASSAULT OF THE 54TH MASSACHUSETTS) - CIVIL WARThe 54th Massachusetts Infant...
07/18/2026

18 JULY 1863 – SECOND BATTLE OF FORT WAGNER (ASSAULT OF THE 54TH MASSACHUSETTS) - CIVIL WAR

The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the second all-Black U.S. Army regiment to be formed during the Civil War, attacked Fort Wagner on 18 July 1863; the events of the Second Battle of Fort Wagner were immortalized in the 1989 film Glory.

Part of the harbor defenses of Charleston, South Carolina, Fort Wagner presented a critical obstacle to Union efforts to seize the city. Situated along the coast of a sandy, marshy island, the only possible avenue of assault for Union forces was a sixty-yard-wide bottleneck along the beach, extraordinarily adverse terrain for any would-be attacker.

An initial attempt to seize the fort was made on 11 July but was repulsed with heavy Union losses. The second assault, composed of about 5,000 troops, was spearheaded by the 54th Massachusetts, led by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw.

The attack was preceded by a largely ineffective Union bombardment of the fort. The infantry assault began at dusk, with Colonel Shaw leading the assault force across 1,200 yards of exposed beach through withering rifle and cannon fire.

Those soldiers who survived the initial transit across the beach mounted the parapets and began engaging the Confederate defenders, fighting furiously with bayonets, rifle-butts, knives, and fists to seize the fortifications.

The men of the 54th fought bravely, but the attack lost momentum as darkness fell, and the Union soldiers were repulsed, having lost over 1,500 killed, wounded, missing, and captured. Among the dead was Colonel Shaw, who was buried by the Confederates in an unmarked mass grave alongside his brothers in arms; the 54th suffered a devastating ~40% casualty rate.

Despite the failure of the assault, the 54th Massachusetts had proved that Black soldiers (until that point widely viewed as second-rate) could fight with all the courage and tenacity of the Union’s best white troops.

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