23 October links four very different moments of war. In 1642 the first pitched battle of the English Civil War was fought at Edgehill: Prince Rupert's cavalry swept the field and then vanished, Parliament's infantry came close to capturing the king's sons, and night fell on a draw. In 1942 a barrage of hundreds of guns opened the Second Battle of El Alamein, the twelve-day fight that turned the war in North Africa. In 1944 two American submarines struck the first blow of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle in history, which ended Japan's fleet as a fighting force. In 1956 a student march in Budapest became the Hungarian Revolution, which Soviet tanks crushed within days.
The Battle of Edgehill, 1642: the Civil War begins
23 October 1642 · 384 years ago
By 1642 the long struggle between King Charles I and his Parliament over money, religion and power had broken into open war. Charles raised his standard at Nottingham, and both sides scrambled to gather armies of half-trained volunteers.
Read the full story of The Battle of Edgehill, 1642: the Civil War begins ›El Alamein, 1942: the end of the beginning
23 October to 4 November 1942 · 84 years ago
After the fall of Tobruk the desert war looked lost for Britain. A new commander, Bernard Montgomery, took over the Eighth Army, steadied its nerve and refused to attack until he was ready. He built up a heavy advantage in men, guns and the new American Sherman tanks, and waited.
Read the full story of El Alamein, 1942: the end of the beginning ›The Battle of Leyte Gulf
23 October 1944 · 82 years ago
The Allies won the Battle of Leyte Gulf between 23 and 26 October 1944, the largest naval battle in history, fought in the waters around the Philippines. Japan gambled almost its entire remaining fleet to stop the American landings and lost; the Imperial Japanese Navy was broken as a fighting force.
Read the full story of The Battle of Leyte Gulf ›Hungarian Revolution of 1956: the fight for Budapest
23 October to about 10 November 1956 · 70 years ago
A student march in Budapest in solidarity with Poland turned into a national uprising against the Soviet-backed regime. Imre Nagy's government declared Hungary neutral, but on 4 November a far larger Soviet force returned, crushed the fighting in Budapest and installed János Kádár.
Read the full story of Hungarian Revolution of 1956: the fight for Budapest ›
