David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv, hours before the British Mandate expired. Within 24 hours, five Arab armies invaded, beginning the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The new state, with no air force and limited weapons, fought for its survival against armies from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Crusader forces began the siege of Nicaea, the first major military engagement of the First Crusade. The city, capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, fell on June 19 when the Crusaders negotiated its surrender to the Byzantine Emperor. The capture opened the road to the Holy Land.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, authorized as a U.S. Army Corps of Discovery, departed from Camp Dubois in Illinois up the Missouri River on the first sustained military-led exploration of the Louisiana Purchase.
Union forces under General Sherman captured Jackson, the state capital of Mississippi, during Grant's Vicksburg Campaign. The victory severed Confederate supply lines to Vicksburg and demonstrated Grant's boldness in operating deep in enemy territory without a secure supply line.
Although the official flight date is August 27, 1939, Ernst Heinkel's team completed the final tethered run of the turbojet He 178 prototype on May 14, 1939, validating the first self-contained jet propulsion system ever installed in an aircraft.
The German Luftwaffe bombed Rotterdam's city center, killing approximately 900 civilians and destroying 24,000 homes. The Netherlands surrendered the same day. The bombing, carried out despite ongoing surrender negotiations, became a symbol of German terror bombing and strengthened Allied resolve.
The Australian hospital ship AHS Centaur was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine off Queensland, killing 268 of the 332 on board, despite being clearly marked with Red Cross insignia and illuminated. The sinking remains one of the most controversial war crimes committed by Japan in the Pacific.
Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel's independence. Within 24 hours, five Arab armies invaded, beginning the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Hours after David Ben-Gurion's declaration of the State of Israel, the new Israel Defense Forces absorbed the Sherut Avir air wing and volunteer squadrons into an organized air arm that would field Avia S-199 fighters within three weeks.
The Soviet Union and seven Eastern European nations signed the Warsaw Pact, creating a military alliance to counter NATO. The pact formalized Soviet control over Eastern European armed forces and established the framework for the Cold War's military confrontation in Europe until its dissolution in 1991.
NASA launched Skylab, the United States' first space station, on the final flight of the Saturn V booster. Micrometeoroid shield damage during ascent turned the station into one of the most dramatic orbital repair missions of the era.
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Colonel
Commanding Officer of 2 Para who was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for leading the charge at Goose Green during the Falklands War. He was killed assaulting an Argentine machine-gun position, and his gallantry inspired his battalion to victory in the war's pivotal battle.
Welsh social reformer whose utopian communities and labor reforms influenced the development of military welfare systems and soldier rehabilitation programs. His ideas about worker conditions helped inspire reforms in how armies treated enlisted personnel.
Generaloberst
Pioneer of German armored warfare doctrine who led the panzer breakthrough at Sedan in 1940 and the drive on Moscow in 1941. His book "Achtung, Panzer!" laid the theoretical foundations for blitzkrieg. After the war, his memoirs influenced Western armored doctrine throughout the Cold War.
10 military events occurred on May 14, spanning multiple centuries. Key events include: State of Israel Declares Independence: War Begins Immediately (1948), Bombing of Rotterdam: Netherlands Capitulates (1940), Warsaw Pact Established (1955).
The most significant military event on May 14 is State of Israel Declares Independence: War Begins Immediately (1948). David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv, hours before the British Mandate expired. Within 24 hours, five Arab armies invaded, beginning the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The new state, with no air force and limited weapons, fought for its survival against armies from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Notable military figures born on May 14 include H. Jones (1940–1982), Robert Owen (1771–1858).
Events on May 14 span the Cold War, World War II, the Civil War, the Colonial & Revolutionary era, covering 10 events across 3 centuries of military history.
Events on May 14 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.
