The Italian War of 1521–1526 was a part of the Italian Wars. The war pitted Francis I of France and the Republic of Venice against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Henry VIII of England, and the Papal States. The conflict arose from animosity over the election of Charles as Emperor in 1519–1520 and from Pope Leo X's need to ally with Charles against Martin Luther. The war broke out across western Europe late in 1521 when the French invaded Navarre and the Low Countries. Imperial forces overcame the invasion and attacked northern France, where they were stopped in turn. The Pope, the Emperor, and Henry VIII then signed a formal alliance against France, and hostilities began on the Italian peninsula. At the Battle of Bicocca, Imperial and Papal forces defeated the French, driving them from Lombardy. Following the battle, fighting again spilled onto French soil, while Venice made a separate peace. The English invaded France in 1523. A French attempt to regain Lombardy in 1524 failed and provided Bourbon with an opportunity to invade Provence at the head of a Spanish army. Francis himself led a second attack on Milan in 1525. (Full article...)

The Second Ostend Raid was the latter of two failed attempts by the Royal Navy to block the channels accessing the Belgian port of Ostend in 1918 during the First World War. The German Navy had used the port since 1915 as a base for their U-boat activities during the battle of the Atlantic and the strategic advantages conferred by the Belgian ports in the conflict were very important. A successful blockade of these bases would have forced German submarines to operate out of more distant ports, such as Wilhelmshaven, on the German coast. The ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge provided sea access via canals for the major inland port of Bruges, which was used as a base for small warships and submarines. The Ostend Raid was largely a failure as a result of heavy German resistance and British navigational difficulties in poor weather. In anticipation of a raid, the Germans had removed the navigation buoys and without them the British had difficulty finding the narrow channel into the harbour in poor weather. When they did discover the entrance, German resistance proved too strong for the operation to be completed as originally planned. British casualties in the raid were heavy, compared to minimal German losses. Despite its failure, the raid was presented in Britain as a courageous and daring gamble which came very close to success. (Full article...)

• ... that while repelling Soviet advances across the frozen Lake Suvanto, Finland managed to capture 12 anti-tank guns, 140 machine guns, 200 light machine guns and 1500 rifles in the Battle of Kelja in 1939?
• ... that in the Battle of Rhium, Phormio used his climatic knowledge of the Corinthian Gulf to help defeat a Spartan fleet that outnumbered his Athenians more than 2 to 1?
• ... that about 12 million people were forced laborers in Nazi Germany during World War II, and less than 2 million received direct compensation after the war?
• ... that Sir Thomas Troubridge lost his right leg and left foot at the Battle of Inkerman, but refused to leave the field until the battle had been won?

Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg (1760–1799) was a soldier in the Austrian service. He achieved the rank of Field Marshal, and died at the Battle of Stockach. The third son of a cadet branch of the Fürstenberg, at his birth his chances of inheriting the family title of Fürst zu Fürstenberg were slight; he was prepared instead for a military career, and a tutor was hired to teach him the military sciences. He entered Habsburg military in 1777, at the age of seventeen years, and was a member of the field army in the short War of the Bavarian Succession. His career progressed steadily during the Habsburg War with the Ottoman Empire. During the French Revolutionary Wars, he fought with distinction again for the First Coalition, particularly at Ketsch and Frœschwiller. He was stationed at key points to protect the movements of the Austrian army. With a force of 10,000, he defended the German Rhineland at Kehl, and reversed a bayonet assault by French troops at Bellheim; his troops also overran Speyer without any losses. By the end of the War of the First Coalition, at the age of 35, he had achieved the rank of Field Marshal. During the War of the Second Coalition, he fought in the first two battles of the German campaign, at Ostrach, 21 March 1799, and at the Battle of Stockach, 25 March 1799. At the latter, while leading a regiment of grenadiers, he was hit with French case shot and knocked off his horse. He died shortly afterward. (Full article...)

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