Daniel D. Tompkins

The Battle of Jutland took place in the North Sea between the German High Seas Fleet and British Grand Fleet on the afternoon and evening of 31 May... 1916, continuing sporadically through the night into the early hours of 1 June. The battle was the only direct engagement between the two fleets throughout World War I. The war had already been waged for two years without any major sea battle, and many of the people present did not expect that this patrol would end differently. Lack of experience still accounted for a number of mistakes by the combatants. The battle has been described in a number of phases, the last of which is the subject of this article. The battle began when scouting battlecruiser forces of the two fleets met at around 1430 in the afternoon of the first day. Initially the British force of six battlecruisers and four fast battleships commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty gave chase to five German battlecruisers commanded by Vice-Admiral Franz Hipper. The German ships set course back towards where they knew the main German fleet was waiting, planning to lead the British ships into a trap.
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The Battle of Mackinac Island was a British victory in the War of 1812. Before the war, Fort Mackinac had been an important American trading post in... the straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. It was important for its influence and control over the Native American tribes in the area, which was sometimes referred to in historical documents as "Michilimackinac". On 18 July 1812, a mixed force of British regular soldiers, Canadian voyageurs and Native Americans captured the island in the Siege of Fort Mackinac before the American defenders knew that war had been declared. The news of this success influenced many more Native tribes who had previously been neutral or undecided to rally to the British cause, contributing to several more British victories over the next year. The British meanwhile abandoned their own defences at St. Joseph Island and concentrated their forces at Mackinac Island. For the rest of the year and through much of 1813, the British hold on Mackinac was secure since they also held Detroit, which the Americans would have to recapture before attacking Mackinac.
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The Battle of Ayacucho was a decisive military encounter during the Peruvian War of Independence. It was the battle that secured the independence of... Peru and ensured independence for the rest of South America. It is considered the end of the Spanish American wars of independence. As of late 1824, Royalists still had control of most of the south of Peru as well as of Real Felipe Fort in the port of Callao. On December 9, 1824, the Battle of Ayacucho took place at Pampa de La Quinua, a few kilometers away from Ayacucho, near the town of Quinua between Royalist and Independentist forces. Independentist forces were led by Antonio José de Sucre, Simón Bolívar's lieutenant. Viceroy José de la Serna was wounded, and after the battle second commander-in-chief José de Canterac signed the final capitulation of the Royalist army. The modern Peruvian Army celebrates the anniversary of this battle. In 1820 Spain began what would shortly become a political disaster.
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The Battle of Gerontas was a naval battle fought close to the island of Leros in the southeast Aegean Sea. On August 29 , 1824, a Greek fleet of 75... ships defeated an Ottoman armada of 100 ships contributed to by Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. The Battle of Gerontas was one of the most decisive naval engagements of the Greek war of Independence and secured the island of Samos under Greek control.
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