September 13

This Day in History

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Lead Story
Key pens Star-Spangled Banner, 1814
American Revolution
American sympathizer Charles James Fox dies in Britain, 1806
Automotive
Oprah gives away nearly 300 new cars, 2004
Civil War
Union troops discover Rebels' Antietam battle plan, 1862
Cold War
New book says war with Russia is greatest U.S. threat, 1976
Crime
Attica prison riot ends, 1971
Disaster
Devastating storm heads toward Caribbean, 1989
General Interest
Britain victorious on the Plains of Abraham, 1759
Massacre at Attica Prison, 1971
Israel-Palestine peace accord signed, 1993
George Wallace dies, 1998
Hollywood
Law & Order debuts, 1990
Literary
Children's author Roald Dahl is born, 1916
Music
Tupac Shakur dies, 1996
Old West
General Winfield Scott storms the Chapultepec fortress, 1847
Presidential
President Carter attends Willie Nelson concert at White House, 1980
Sports
Bob Feller strikes out 17 at 17, 1936
Vietnam War
British troops arrive to disarm the Japanese, 1945
Attempted coup against Khanh government fails, 1964
Large operation begins in the DMZ, 1968
World War I
Irish nationalist seeks German support, 1914
World War II
Italy invades Egypt, 1940

Vietnam War

Sep 13, 1945:

British troops arrive to disarm the Japanese

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In accordance with the Potsdam Agreements at the end of WWII, 5,000 British troops of the 20th Indian Division, commanded by Gen. Douglas Gracey, arrive in southern Indochina to disarm the defeated Japanese forces. In August, Ho Chi Minh and the Viet Minh had seized power in Hanoi and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and independence from French colonial rule. However, Gracey, who detested the Viet Minh, rearmed some 1,400 French soldiers who had been imprisoned by the Japanese. This effectively was the first step in the re-establishment of French colonial rule and set the stage for the conflict between the French and the Viet Minh that led to a bloody nine-year war which would not end until the Viet Minh inflicted a humiliating defeat on the French at the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

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This Week in History, Sep 13 - Sep 19

Sep 13, 1945
British troops arrive to disarm the Japanese
Sep 13, 1964
Attempted coup against Khanh government fails
Sep 13, 1968
Large operation begins in the DMZ
Sep 14, 1965
South Vietnamese forces and U.S. advisers conduct parachute assault
Sep 14, 1966
Operation Attleboro is launched in War Zone C
Sep 15, 1964
NLF calls for general military offensive
Sep 15, 1972
South Vietnamese forces retake Quang Tri City
Sep 16, 1960
U.S. Ambassador in Saigon warns that situation is worsening
Sep 16, 1969
Nixon announces the withdrawal of a further 35,000 troops from Vietnam
Sep 17, 1970
PRG presents a new peace plan
Sep 17, 1972
Hanoi releases three POWs
Sep 18, 1964
North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration
Sep 18, 1969
"March Against Death" to be held in Washington
Sep 19, 1966
Pressure mounts against continued U.S. involvement in Vietnam
Sep 19, 1969
Nixon cancels draft calls for November and December

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