August 19 in Military History

Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor and founder of the Roman military system that would endure for centuries, died at Nola. His reorganization of the legions, creation of the Praetorian Guard, and establishment of permanent frontier garrisons created the professional military model that influenced every subsequent Western army.

The American frigate USS Constitution defeated and destroyed the British frigate HMS Guerriere in a ship-to-ship action southeast of Halifax. British cannonballs were seen bouncing off Constitution's thick oak hull, earning her the legendary nickname "Old Ironsides." The victory was a massive morale boost for the young American navy.

A nationwide German plebiscite ratified Adolf Hitler's assumption of both the chancellorship and the presidency after Paul von Hindenburg's death on August 2. Approval from 89.9 percent of voters completed Hitler's consolidation of power and allowed him to begin the military rearmament that would precipitate World War II.

A predominantly Canadian force of 6,086 troops launched a disastrous amphibious assault on the German-occupied French port of Dieppe. Over 60% of the attackers were killed, wounded, or captured in the bloodiest single-day engagement for Canadian forces in World War II. The painful lessons learned directly shaped the planning for D-Day two years later.

Allied forces, mostly Canadian troops of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, launched Operation Jubilee, a raid on the French port of Dieppe. The operation was a disaster, with 68 percent of the landing force killed, wounded, or captured in a single day, but the costly lessons shaped the planning for every subsequent amphibious operation including Normandy.

The French Resistance launched an armed uprising against the German garrison in Paris, erecting barricades and attacking German positions across the city. The insurrection, led by Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, lasted six days until the arrival of Free French and American forces on August 25.

The CIA and MI6 orchestrated a coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and restored Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to power. The coup, triggered by Mosaddegh's nationalization of British oil interests, planted the seeds of anti-American sentiment that would erupt in the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

The Discoverer 14 reentry capsule, containing the first film from an operational CORONA reconnaissance satellite, was recovered in mid-air by a C-119 Flying Boxcar over the Pacific Ocean. The capsule carried 3,000 feet of exposed film showing more Soviet territory than all previous U-2 flights combined.

An Air Force JC-119 Flying Boxcar recovered the Discoverer 14 film capsule in mid-air over the Pacific on August 19, 1960, returning the first successful photoreconnaissance satellite imagery of the Soviet Union and opening the Corona program that produced more than 800,000 images over its operational life.

Hard-line Communist officials including the KGB chairman, defense minister, and interior minister launched a coup against Mikhail Gorbachev, placing him under house arrest at his Crimean dacha. The three-day coup collapsed after Boris Yeltsin rallied resistance at the Russian White House and elements of the army and KGB refused to act against civilians.