Wikipedia:Main Page history/2013 July 21

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From today's featured article

The Battle of Taejon (14–21 July 1950) was an early battle between United States and North Korean forces during the Korean War. U.S. Army forces, attempting to defend the headquarters of the 24th Infantry Division, were overwhelmed by numerically superior forces of the Korean People's Army (KPA) at the major city and transportation hub of Taejon. The Americans were already exhausted after two weeks of attempting to stem the KPA's advance. The entire 24th Division gathered to make a final stand around Taejon, holding a line along the Kum River to the east of the city. The American forces, outnumbered, ill-equipped and untrained, were pushed back from the river bank after several days, before fighting an intense urban battle to defend the city. After a fierce three-day struggle, they withdrew. Although they could not hold the city, the 24th Infantry Division achieved a strategic victory by delaying the North Koreans, providing time for other American divisions to establish a defensive perimeter around Pusan further south. The KPA captured Major General William F. Dean, the commander of the 24th Infantry Division, and the highest-ranking American prisoner during the Korean War. (Full article...)

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On this day...

July 21: National Day in Belgium (1831)

365 – A large earthquake that occurred near Crete and its subsequent tsunami caused widespread destruction throughout the eastern Mediterranean region.

1645 – Qing Dynasty regent Dorgon issued an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.

1865 – In one of the few recorded instances of a "quick draw" gun duel in the American Old West, Wild Bill Hickok (pictured) shot and killed Davis Tutt over a poker debt.

1973 – Mossad agents mistakenly assassinated a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway, whom they believed had been involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre.

1977 – Libyan forces carried out a raid at Sallum, sparking a four-day war with Egypt.

More anniversaries: July 20 – July 21 – July 22

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It is now July 21, 2013 (UTC) – Reload this page

Today's featured picture

A map (full view) showing the progression of the Second Battle of Guam (July 21 – August 10, 1944), in which the United States recaptured the Japanese-held island of Guam. The Japanese, who had taken the island almost three years earlier, saw more than 18,000 casualties during the campaign, most of whom were killed; the American forces took nearly 8,000 casualties, with over 1,700 killed. The first date of the battle is now celebrated as Liberation Day in Guam.

Map: Grandiose

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