When confronted with the sight of the full force of the British Grand Fleet, Scheer executed a textbook 180-degree turn and disappeared from the sight of the British into the thick haze of the area of previous engagement. Jellicoe was unsure of the direction the Germans had taken and was... More
Upon Scheer’s final retreat away from the British, Jellicoe made the conservative decision to steer away from the incoming German torpedoes. As the British had already suffered a number of losses, Jellicoe considered this to be the wiser option. Beatty, on the other hand, maintained a heading parallel to the... More
Scheer was faced with possible annihilation if he maintained his course southwest and the British remained within contact distance by the time daylight arrived. His only option was to return to base along the coast but the British fleet blocked his route to the east. Jellicoe was aware that Scheer... More
The British were unsure of German naval intentions and were misinformed that Admiral Scheer’s High Seas Fleet was still in port at Wilhemshaven. At 14:20 on 13 May, the British Battle Cruiser Fleet heading east under Admiral Beatty made contact with scouts of the German Scouting Force heading north under... More
Kahun (El Lahun) is an ancient town in Upper Egypt, close to the Faiyum oasis and 2,625 ft (800 m) from the Pyramid of Senusret II (1897–1878 BCE). Built by the pharaoh to house the personnel involved in the construction of his pyramid, excavation of Kahun has revealed a wealth... More
Tired of the Hyksos occupation, the Theban pharaoh, Kamose, raided Avaris, their trading and administrative hub in the northeastern Nile delta (c. 1540 BCE). These relatively benign oppressors allowed the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt to function as ‘vassal kingdoms’. Kamose believed that the Kingdom of Egypt was rightfully... More
Democrat Senator Stephen Douglas drafted the Kansas-Nebraska Act with President Franklin Pierce. It borrowed from the Compromise of 1850, whereby the Utah and New Mexico territories were granted popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery, and extended this principle to the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. In so doing, it... More
Dubbed by Stalin his “tenth shock”, in September 1944 the Soviets’ Karelian Front, under Colonel-General K.A. Meretskov, combined with the Northern Fleet under Admiral Arseniy Golovko and conducted a major offensive to drive the German Wehrmacht out of northern Finland. After taking Kirkenes on the Arctic coast, the Russians drove... More
The Precinct of Amun Re consists of the four temple enclosures that comprise the Karnak temple complex near Luxor in Egypt. There is reference to the site as sacred dating back over four millennia, but the first attributable building work was commissioned by Senusret I in the 11th Dynasty (c.... More
Following a heavy defeat for the Americans at the Battle of Sidi Bou Zid on 14 February, US troops were ordered to retreat from the east of the Atlas Mountains range to the west, where a defensive position would be more tenable. After receiving amendments to his plan of attack... More
The 1960 election produced the closest popular vote margin of the 20th century (0.17 per cent in Kennedy’s favour) although Kennedy won the Electoral College comfortably, by 309 to 219. It has been a commonplace that the charismatic John F. Kennedy gained the edge over the less prepossessing Richard Nixon... More
On the morning of 27 June General Sherman’s Union artillery subjected the Confederate defences on the ridge at Kennesaw Mountain to a ferocious bombardment: ‘Kennesaw smoked and blazed with fire, a volcano as grand as Etna’. However, the earthwork fortifications absorbed the pummelling, and when the Union troops advanced –... More