25 October 1983

The United States and its Caribbean allies invade Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters are executed in a coup d’état.

Operation Urgent Fury was the code name for the United States-led invasion of the Caribbean island of Grenada in October 1983. The operation was launched primarily to overthrow the Marxist government that had come to power through a coup and to protect American citizens living on the island, particularly students attending a medical school. It was one of the first major military actions by the United States since the Vietnam War and remains a significant moment in Cold War history.

25 October 1949

The Battle of Guningtou in the Taiwan Strait begins.

The Battle of Guningtou, which took place in 1949, was a significant military engagement during the Chinese Civil War. This battle occurred on the island of Kinmen (also known as Quemoy), which is located in the Taiwan Strait. It marked a critical moment in the conflict between the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) led by Mao Zedong.

Background:
The Chinese Civil War was a protracted struggle between the Nationalists and Communists for control of China. By 1949, the Communist forces had gained the upper hand and were on the verge of victory. The Nationalists retreated to Taiwan and several offshore islands, including Kinmen.

Strategic Location:
Kinmen was strategically important because of its proximity to the mainland coast of China, specifically the province of Fujian. Both the Nationalists and Communists sought to control the island to gain an advantage in the ongoing conflict.

Communist Offensive:
In October 1949, the Communists launched a massive assault on Kinmen. They aimed to capture the island and eliminate the Nationalist forces there, which would have given them a strong foothold for launching an invasion of Taiwan.

Nationalist Defense:
The Nationalists, aware of the island’s importance, were determined to hold Kinmen. They dug in and fortified their positions, leading to intense fighting and heavy casualties on both sides. The defenders received naval and aerial support from the United States.

International Involvement:
The Battle of Guningtou took place during a period of heightened tension in the early years of the Cold War. The United States provided military and diplomatic support to the Nationalists, as part of its broader strategy to contain the spread of communism in Asia.

Nationalist Victory:
Despite being outnumbered, the Nationalists managed to repel the Communist assault on Kinmen. The Battle of Guningtou is often seen as a symbol of the Nationalists’ determination and resolve to hold on to their offshore islands, as well as a reminder of the challenges they faced in their struggle to maintain their presence in the region.

Impact:
The battle had several important consequences. It bolstered the morale of the Nationalists and demonstrated the difficulty the Communists faced in trying to take Taiwan. It also solidified the division between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland and the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan, which still exists today.

25 October 1983

The United States invades Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters are executed in a coup.

The United States invasion of Grenada began on 25 October 1983. The invasion, led by the United States, of the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, which has a population of about 91,000 and is located 160 kilometres north of Venezuela, resulted in a U.S. victory within a matter of days. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, it was triggered by the internal strife within the People’s Revolutionary Government that resulted in the house arrest and the execution of the previous leader and second Prime Minister of Grenada Maurice Bishop, and the establishment of a preliminary government, the Revolutionary Military Council with Hudson Austin as Chairman. The invasion resulted in the appointment of an interim government, followed by democratic elections in 1984. The country has remained a democratic nation since then.

Grenada gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1974. The Marxist-Leninist New Jewel Movement seized power in a coup in 1979 under Maurice Bishop, suspending the constitution and detaining a number of political prisoners. In 1983, an internal power struggle began over Bishop’s relatively moderate foreign policy approach, and on 19 October, hard-line military junta elements captured and executed Bishop and his partner Jacqueline Creft, along with three cabinet ministers and two union leaders. Subsequently, following appeals by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the Governor-General of Grenada, Paul Scoon, the Reagan Administration in the U.S. quickly decided to launch a military intervention. U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s justification for the intervention was in part explained as “concerns over the 600 U.S. medical students on the island” and fears of a repeat of the Iran hostage crisis.

The U.S. invasion began six days after Bishop’s death, on the morning of 25 October 1983. The invading force consisted of the U.S. Army’s Rapid Deployment Force; U.S. Marines; U.S. Army Delta Force; U.S. Navy SEALs, and ancillary forces totaling 7,600 U.S.troops, together with Jamaican forces, and troops of the Regional Security System. They defeated Grenadian resistance after a low-altitude airborne assault by Rangers on Point Salines Airport at the south end of the island, and a Marine helicopter and amphibious landing on the north end at Pearls Airport. The military government of Hudson Austin was deposed and replaced by a government appointed by Governor-General Paul Scoon.

The invasion was criticised by several countries including Canada. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher privately disapproved of the mission and the lack of notice she received, but publicly supported the intervention. The United Nations General Assembly, on 2 November 1983 with a vote of 108 to 9, condemned it as “a flagrant violation of international law”. Conversely, it enjoyed broad public support in the United States and, over time, a positive evaluation from the Grenadian population, who appreciated the fact that there had been relatively few civilian casualties, as well as the return to democratic elections in 1984 better source needed The U.S. awarded more than 5,000 medals for merit and valor.

The date of the invasion is now a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day, which commemorates the freeing, after the invasion, of several political prisoners who were subsequently elected to office. A truth and reconciliation commission was launched in 2000 to re-examine some of the controversies of the era; in particular, the commission made an unsuccessful attempt to find Bishop’s body, which had been disposed of at Hudson Austin’s order, and never found.

For the U.S., the invasion also highlighted issues with communication and coordination between the different branches of the United States military when operating together as a joint force, contributing to investigations and sweeping changes in the form of the Goldwater-Nichols Act and other reorganizations.

25 October 1828

The St Katharine Docks open in London.

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In 1805 the London dock was opened at Wapping, to ships from the Mediterranean, North Africa and the near Continental and coastal ports. It was followed in 1828 by the St. Katharine Dock built on the western side of the London Dock and hard up against the Tower of London. In 1864 the two proprietary companies amalgamated to form the London and St. Katharine Docks.

This complex of entrances, cuttings, quays and warehouses with a total area of 125 acres (water area 45 acres) and four miles of quays (26 berths for ships up to 360 ft. long) is to be sold by the owners, the Port of London Authority. The target set is September 30th, 1968, with all warehoused goods cleared by the end of the year.

These docks, known for a century and a-half throughout the Seven Seas, were built for permanence. Their builders knew nothing of ‘limited obsolescence’—putting up premises whose continued usefulness could be reviewed each decade. They built for the ships of the period whose average size was not, by 1844, more than 241 tons. Inexorably this has risen; by 1903 the average size of ocean-going ships was 1,300 tons, by 1950, 2,700 and by 1963, 3,700 tons.

25 October 1828

The St Katharine Docks are opened in London.

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The ‘Elizabeth’ entering the St Katharine Docks on the opening day in 1828. The docks had over a million square feet of storage area to house items such as tea, rubber, wool, marble, ivory, tallow and turtle shell. Despite this, the docks were never a great financial success and were finally closed in 1968, having long run at a loss. They were sold by the Port of London Authority to the Greater London Council. St Katharine Docks, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, were one of the commercial docks serving London, on the north side of the river Thames just east of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. They were part of the Port of London, in the area now known as the Docklands, and are now a popular housing and leisure complex.