Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Verster Prison after 27 years of imprisonment, beginning South Africa's transition from apartheid and the eventual transformation of its military from an instrument of racial oppression to a unified national force.
Bernadette Soubirous reported the first of 18 Marian apparitions at Lourdes, France. The site became a major pilgrimage destination for wounded soldiers, and military pilgrimages to Lourdes continue to this day.
Brigadier General Grant began moving 15,000 troops from captured Fort Henry to invest Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, supported by Andrew Foote's ironclad gunboat flotilla.
Italy and the Vatican signed the Lateran Treaty, creating Vatican City as an independent state and ending the centuries-old tradition of the Papal States' military forces.
The submarine USS Shark was sunk by the Japanese destroyer Yamakaze east of Celebes, killing all 59 crew members in one of the earliest U.S. submarine losses of the Pacific War.
Eisenhower assumed full command of Allied forces in the North African Theater of Operations, unifying British and American forces under a single supreme commander for the first time.
The Yalta Conference concluded with Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreeing on Germany's division, the United Nations charter, and Soviet entry into the Pacific War, decisions that shaped the Cold War world.
Following a Viet Cong sapper attack at Qui Nhon that killed 23 Americans, carrier aircraft from three carriers struck targets in North Vietnam, paving the way for the sustained Rolling Thunder campaign.
Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Verster Prison after 27 years of imprisonment, beginning South Africa's transition from apartheid and the eventual transformation of its military from an instrument of racial oppression to a unified national force.
President Hosni Mubarak resigned after 18 days of protests and pressure from the Egyptian military, transferring power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in a pivotal moment of the Arab Spring.
A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor fired an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile to destroy an unidentified high-altitude object over Canada's Yukon Territory during the most intense North American air defense operations since the Cold War.
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America's greatest inventor whose innovations, electric light, phonograph, motion pictures, all had profound military applications, from illuminated battlefields to voice communication and training films.
General
Panamanian military dictator and former CIA asset who was overthrown by the U.S. military during Operation Just Cause in 1989, the largest American combat operation since Vietnam at that time.
French philosopher and mathematician who served as a soldier in the Dutch and Bavarian armies. His rational method influenced military planning and the scientific approach to warfare.
10 military events occurred on February 11, spanning multiple centuries. Key events include: Nelson Mandela Released After 27 Years, South Africa's Military Transformation Begins (1990), Yalta Conference Ends, Europe's Post-War Fate Sealed (1945), Grant's Army Marches on Fort Donelson, Union Ironclads Follow on the Cumberland (1862).
The most significant military event on February 11 is Nelson Mandela Released After 27 Years, South Africa's Military Transformation Begins (1990). Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Verster Prison after 27 years of imprisonment, beginning South Africa's transition from apartheid and the eventual transformation of its military from an instrument of racial oppression to a unified national force.
Notable military figures born on February 11 include Thomas Edison (1847–1931), Manuel Noriega (1934–2017).
Events on February 11 span the Cold War, World War II, the Interwar Period, the Modern Era, the Civil War, covering 10 events across 3 centuries of military history.
Events on February 11 involve 3 branches of the U.S. and allied armed forces, reflecting the global scope of military operations throughout history.
Explore military history from the day you were born.
June 6
The Allied invasion of Normandy, the largest amphibious assault in history.
December 7
Japan attacks the U.S. Pacific Fleet, bringing America into World War II.
September 11
The deadliest terrorist attack in history transforms U.S. national security.
August 6
The first atomic bomb is dropped on a city, ushering in the nuclear age.
May 8
Nazi Germany surrenders unconditionally, ending World War II in Europe.
November 11
Armistice Day marks the end of World War I and honors all who served.
June 4
The turning point of the Pacific War as the U.S. Navy destroys four Japanese carriers.
July 4
The Declaration of Independence is adopted, sparking the American Revolution.
The FIM-92 Stinger helped win the Cold War by turning Afghan mujahideen into a credible anti-aircraft threat. By 2023, the United States almost ran out of them, because Raytheon stopped making them for 13 years, and the first 10 months of Ukraine support burned through the remaining stockpile.
These weapons were built to fight a war that everyone prayed would never happen. The Minuteman III has been on alert since 1970. The Typhoon-class carried enough nuclear warheads to destroy a continent. The Davy Crockett could be fired by three soldiers. Most of them have been waiting for 40 years. Here are 10 Cold War weapons built exclusively for World War III.
The MiG-31 was designed to catch the SR-71 Blackbird. It is still the fastest fighter in any air force. The Foxhound's Zaslon phased-array radar, the first ever installed in a fighter, can track 10 targets and engage 4 simultaneously at ranges exceeding 200 miles. Here is why Russia still flies a 1980s interceptor, and why the MiG-31BM carrying a Kinzhal hypersonic missile has changed what the aircraft means to modern warfare.
Nineteen armies on four continents chose the Leopard 2. No other Western tank comes close to this export record, and the reasons go far beyond German engineering.
