Today in Military History July 20

July 20 911  Rollo lays siege to Chartres.

July 20 1398  The Battle of Kellistown was fought on this day between the forces of the English led by Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March against the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles under the command of Art Óg mac Murchadha Caomhánach, the most powerful Chieftain in Leinster.

July 20 1402  Ottoman-Timurid Wars: Battle of Ankara: Timur, ruler of Timurid Empire, defeats forces of the Ottoman Empire sultan Bayezid I.

July 20 1592  During the first Japanese invasion of Korea, Japanese forces led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi captured Pyongyang, although they were ultimately unable to hold it.

July 20 1864  American Civil War: Battle of Peachtree Creek: Near Atlanta, Georgia, Confederate forces led by General John Bell Hood unsuccessfully attack Union troops under General William T. Sherman.

July 20 1866  Austro-Prussian War: Battle of Lissa: The Austrian Navy, led by Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, defeats the Italian Navy near the island of Vis in the Adriatic Sea.

July 20 1917  World War I: The Corfu Declaration, which leads to the creation of the post-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia, is signed by the Yugoslav Committee and Kingdom of Serbia.

July 20 1920  The Greek Army takes control of Silivri after Greece is awarded the city by the Paris Peace Conference; by 1923 Greece effectively lost control to the Turks.

July 20 1944  World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

July 20 1949  Israel and Syria sign a truce to end their nineteen-month war.

July 20 1950  Cold War: In Philadelphia, Harry Gold pleads guilty to spying for the Soviet Union by passing secrets from atomic scientist Klaus Fuchs.

July 20 1960  The Polaris missile is successfully launched from a submarine, the USS George Washington, for the first time.

July 20 1961  French military forces break the Tunisian siege of Bizerte.

July 20 1964  Vietnam War: Viet Cong forces attack the capital of Định Tường Province, Cái Bè, killing 11 South Vietnamese military personnel and 40 civilians (30 of whom are children).

July 20 1969  A cease fire is announced between Honduras and El Salvador, six days after the beginning of the "Football War".

July 20 1974   Turkish invasion of Cyprus: Forces from Turkey invade Cyprus after a coup d'état, organised by the dictator of Greece, against president Makarios.

July 20 1997   The fully restored USS Constitution (a.k.a. Old Ironsides) celebrates its 200th birthday by setting sail for the first time in 116 years.

July 20 1999  The Chinese Communist Party begins a persecution campaign against Falun Gong, arresting thousands nationwide.

July 20 2005  The Civil Marriage Act legalizes same-sex marriage in Canada.

July 20 2013  Seventeen government soldiers are killed in an attack by FARC revolutionaries in the Colombian department of Arauca.