Portal:Military of the United States/Selected anniversaries/March

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Selected anniversaries in March

March 1

• 1917 - U.S. government releases the plaintext of the Zimmermann Telegram to the public.
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of Bismarck Sea begins.
• 1950 - Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by giving them top secret atomic bomb data.
• 1954 - Nuclear testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
• 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.

March 2

• 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Bismarck Sea - United States and Australian forces sink Japanese convoy ships.
• 1949 - Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
• 1991 - Battle at Rumaila Oil Field brings end to the 1991 Gulf War.
• 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, with 11 allied troop fatalities).
• 2004 - War in Iraq: Al Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.

March 3

• 1931 - The United States officially adopts "The Star-Spangled Banner" as its national anthem.
• 1980 - USS Nautilus stricken.
• 2001 - A U.S. Air Force Materiel Command C-23 Sherpa transport crashes during stormy weather in the U.S. state of Georgia, killing 21.

March 4

• 1776 - The American War of Independence: The Americans capture "Dorchester Heights" dominating the port of Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1814 - Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London and Thamesville near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
• 1944 - First U.S. daylight bombing of Berlin and Anti-Germany strikes in northern Italy.
• 1991 - In Iraq, Saddam Hussein releases 6 U.S., 3 British and 1 Italian prisoners of war.
• 1999 - In a military court, Captain Richard Ashby of the United States Marines is acquitted of the charge of reckless flying which resulted in the deaths of 20 skiers in the Italian Alps when his low-flying jet hit a gondola cable.
• 2002 - Multinational Force in Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers are killed as they attempt to infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
• 2005 - The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two passengers.

March 5

• 1770 - Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including a black slave named Crispus Attucks, and a boy are killed by British troops in an event that would help start the American Revolutionary War five years later.
• 1861 - The "Stars and Bars" is adopted as the flag of the Confederate States of America.
• 1945 - World War II: "Battle of the Ruhr" begins.
• 1970 - A nuclear non-proliferation treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
• 1991 - Iraq releases all Gulf War prisoners.

March 6

• 1820 - The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.
• 1948 - USS Newport News, the first air-conditioned naval ship, is launched from Newport News, Virginia.

March 7

• 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Pea Ridge - Union forces led by General Samuel Curtis defeat Confederate troops under General Earl Van Dorn at Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.
• 1945 - World War II: American troops seize the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany and begin to cross.
• 1950 - Cold War: The Soviet Union issues a statement denying that Klaus Fuchs served as a Soviet spy.
• 1951 - Korean War: Operation Ripper - In Korea, United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgeway begin an assault against Chinese forces.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: The First Battle of Saigon begins.
• 1984 - The United States attacks San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.

March 8

• 1862 - American Civil War: The iron-clad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) is launched at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
• 1906 - Moro Crater Massacre: U.S. troops occupying the Philippines massacre about 600 men, women and children taking refuge in a crater.
• 1943 - World War II: Japanese troops counter-attack American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville in a battle that will last five days.
• 1965 - Vietnam War: 3,500 United States Marines arrive in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam.
• 1966 - Vietnam War: Australia announces it is going to substantially increase its number of troops in Vietnam.
• 1983 - President Ronald Reagan calls the Soviet Union an evil empire.

March 9

• 1847 - Mexican-American War: United States forces under General Winfield Scott invade Mexico near Vera Cruz.
• 1862 - American Civil War: The first battle between two ironclad warships - In a five-hour battle near Hampton Roads, Virginia the USS Monitor fights the CSS Virginia to a draw.
• 1916 - Pancho Villa leads 1,500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 17.
• 1945 - World War II: Bombing of Tokyo - American B-29 bombers attack Tokyo, Japan with incendiary bombs. The resulting fire storm kills over 100,000 people.
• 1986 - United States Navy divers find the largely intact but heavily-damaged crew compartment of the Space Shuttle Challenger. The bodies of all seven astronauts were still inside.

March 10

• 1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican-American War.
• 1864 - American Civil War: The Red River Campaign begins as Union troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana.
• 1970 - Vietnam War: Capt. Ernest Medina is charged with My Lai war crimes.
• 1975 - Vietnam War: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam, on their way to capturing Saigon.
• 1991 - Gulf War: Operation Phase Echo - 540,000 American troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf.
• 1998 - American troops stationed in the Persian Gulf begin to receive the first vaccinations against anthrax.

March 11

• 1779 - Army Corps of Engineers for the United States was authorized by the Congress
• 1824 - The United States War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• 1861 - American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
• 1941 - World War II: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
• 1942 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur abandons Corregidor.
• 1945 - World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.

March 12

• If you know of an anniversary on this date please add it here.

March 13

• 1862 - American Civil War: The U.S. federal government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.
• 1865 - American Civil War: The Confederate States of America reluctantly agrees to the use of African American troops.
• 1943 - World War II: In Bougainville, Japanese troops end their assault on American forces at Hill 700.
• 1962 - Lyman Lemnitzer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the USA, proposes a document, called Operation Northwoods, regarding performing terrorist attacks in Guantanamo Bay to Secretary of Defense Robert Mcnamara.

March 14

• 1951 - Korean War: For the second time, United Nations troops recapture Seoul.

March 15

• 1781 - American Revolutionary War: Battle of Guilford Courthouse - Near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, 1,900 British troops under General Charles Cornwallis defeat an American force numbering 4,400.
• 1783 - In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d'etat never takes place.
• 1916 - President Woodrow Wilson sends 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
• 1919 - The American Legion forms in Paris.
• 1944 - World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino - Allied aircraft bomb the Nazi-held monastery and stage an assault.
• 1989 - The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is established.

March 16

• 1802 - The United States Military Academy West Point is established.
• 1916 - 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the border to join the hunt of Pancho Villa.
• 1945 - World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends but small pockets of Japanese resistance persist.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: In the My Lai massacre, between 350 and 500 Vietnamese villagers are killed by American troops.
• 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

March 17

• 1776 - American Revolution: British forces evacuate Boston, Massachusetts after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery overlooking the city.
• 1960 - President Eisenhower signed a National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program which lead to the Bay of Pig invasion
• 1970 - My Lai massacre: The United States Army charges 14 officers with suppressing information related to the incident.
• 1973 - The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, as a former prisoner of war comes home to the United States to reunite with his family.

March 18

• 1766 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act, which was very unpopular in the British colonies.
• 1865 - American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States of America adjourns for the last time.
• 1945 - World War II: 1,250 American bombers attack Berlin.
• 2003 - US enters war in Iraq. About $1 billion was taken from Iraq's Central Bank by Saddam Hussein and his family, just hours before the United States began bombing Iraq, biggest bank robbery in history.

March 19

• 1863 - The Confederate cruiser SS Georgiana was destroyed on her maiden voyage. The wreck was discovered on the same day and month, exactly 102 years later by then teenage diver and adventurer E. Lee Spence.
• 1865 - American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later the Confederate forces have retreated from Greenville, North Carolina.
• 1916 - Eight American planes take off in pursuit of Pancho Villa, the first United States air-combat mission in history.
• 1920 - The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (first time was on November 19, 1919).
• 1945 - World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 800 of her crew and crippling the ship.
• 2002 - U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda ends (started on March 2) after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities.

March 20

• 1922 - The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
• 1942 - General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: "I came out of Bataan and I shall return".
• 1952 - The United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
• 2003 - 2003 invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries begin military operations in Iraq.

March 21

• 1918 - World War I: Second Battle of the Somme begins.
• 1928 - Charles Lindbergh is presented the Medal of Honor for his first trans-Atlantic flight.
• 1980 - US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.

March 22

• 2006 - Three Christian Peacemaker Teams Hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days captivity and the death of their colleague, American Tom Fox.

March 23

• 1775 - American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his famous speech -"give me liberty or give me death" at St. John's Church in Richmond, Virginia.
• 1983 - Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
• 2003 - In Nasiriyah, Iraq, 11 soldiers of the 507th Maintenance Company as well as 18 U.S. Marines are killed during the first major conflict of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

March 24

• 1765 - American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain passes the Quartering Act that requires the 13 American colonies to house British troops.
• 1999 - Kosovo War: NATO commences air bombardment against Yugoslavia, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
• 2003 - The Arab League votes 21-1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.

March 25

• 1655 - Protestants take control of Maryland at the Battle of the Severn.
• 1865 - American Civil War: In Virginia, Confederate forces capture Fort Stedman from the Union in a bloody battle.

March 26

• 1943 - World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands - In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
• 1945 - World War II: the third and final Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima.
• 1958 - The United States Army launches Explorer III.

March 27

• 1794 - The government of the United States establishes a permanent United States Navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
• 1814 - War of 1812: In central Alabama, United States forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
• 1846 - Mexican-American War: Siege of Fort Texas.
• 1945 - World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan's ports and waterways begins.

March 28

• 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Glorieta Pass - In New Mexico, Union forces succeed in stopping the Confederate invasion of New Mexico territory. The battle began on March 26.
• 1946 - Cold War: The United States State Department releases the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
• 2003 - In a "friendly fire" incident, two A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft from the United States Idaho Air National Guard's 190th Fighter Squadron attacked British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing British soldier Matty Hull.

March 29

• 1847 - Mexican-American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
• 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Appomattox Court House begins.
• 1973 - Vietnam War: The last United States soldiers leave South Vietnam.

March 30

• 1855 - Origins of the American Civil War: Bleeding Kansas - "Border Ruffians" from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
• 1870 - Texas is readmitted to the Union following Reconstruction.
• 1945 - World War II: a defecting German pilot delivers a Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 to Americans.
• 1965 - Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
• 1972 - Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.

March 31

• 1774 - American Revolutionary War: The Kingdom of Great Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed in the Boston Port Act.
• 1854 - Commodore Matthew Perry signs the Treaty of Kanagawa with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade.
• 1992 - USS Missouri (BB-63), the last active US Navy Battleship, is decommissioned in Long Beach, California.
• 2004 - In Fallujah, Iraq, 4 American private military contractors working for Blackwater USA, are killed and their bodies mutilated after being ambushed.