Austria-Hungary delivers a harsh ultimatum to Serbia in the wake of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination, setting off the July Crisis that would escalate into World War I within days, the deadliest conflict in human history to that point.
Ulysses S. Grant, the Union general who won the Civil War and served as 18th President, dies of throat cancer at age 63 at Mount McGregor, New York, just days after completing his celebrated memoirs.
Austria-Hungary delivers a harsh ultimatum to Serbia in the wake of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination, setting off the July Crisis that would escalate into World War I within days, the deadliest conflict in human history to that point.
Hitler issues Directive No. 45, splitting Army Group South into two divergent thrusts, one toward Stalingrad and one toward the Caucasus oil fields. This fateful decision fatally overextended German forces and led directly to the disaster at Stalingrad.
Adolf Hitler issues Fuehrer Directive 45, splitting the German summer offensive into simultaneous drives toward the Caucasus oil fields and Stalingrad, the strategic decision that overextended Army Group South and set the stage for the catastrophic Stalingrad campaign.
The Red Army liberates the Majdanek concentration camp near Lublin, Poland, the first major concentration camp to be freed by Allied forces. The camp's largely intact gas chambers and crematoria provide the first undeniable physical evidence of the Holocaust.
Marshal Philippe Petain, the former head of the Vichy French state, goes on trial for treason in a Paris courtroom, the most prominent French war crimes prosecution and a pivotal moment in the postwar reconstruction of the French armed forces.
The Free Officers Movement, led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, overthrows King Farouk in a military coup that transforms Egypt from a monarchy to a republic and reshapes the entire Middle Eastern strategic landscape.
A group of Egyptian Army officers led by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser and General Mohamed Naguib launch a coup that deposes King Farouk, ends the British-dominated monarchy, and begins a quarter-century of Egyptian military rule that reshaped Arab military alignments.
The Detroit Riot erupts after a police raid on an unlicensed bar, escalating into five days of violence that requires the deployment of the Michigan National Guard and the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. Forty-three people are killed.
President Lyndon Johnson federalizes the Michigan National Guard and dispatches the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to Detroit during the urban uprising, the largest federal military deployment inside an American city since the 1943 Los Angeles Zoot Suit Riots.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fighters ambush a Sri Lankan Army patrol near Jaffna, killing 13 soldiers and triggering the anti-Tamil pogroms known as Black July that ignited the 26-year civil war between the Sri Lankan armed forces and Tamil insurgents.
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11 military events occurred on July 23, spanning multiple centuries. Key events include: Austria-Hungary Issues Ultimatum to Serbia (1914), Egyptian Revolution of 1952 (1952), Majdanek Concentration Camp Liberated (1944).
The most significant military event on July 23 is Austria-Hungary Issues Ultimatum to Serbia (1914). Austria-Hungary delivers a harsh ultimatum to Serbia in the wake of Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination, setting off the July Crisis that would escalate into World War I within days, the deadliest conflict in human history to that point.
Notable military figures born on July 23 include Pee Wee Reese (1918–1999).
Events on July 23 span World War I, the Cold War, World War II, the Civil War, covering 11 events across 2 centuries of military history.
Events on July 23 involve 2 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.
