May 6 in Military History

Unpaid troops of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, largely Spanish soldiers and German Landsknechte, sacked Rome in one of the most devastating military actions of the Renaissance. The week-long pillage killed thousands, traumatized Europe, and ended the Italian Renaissance as a cultural force.

Arkansas voted to secede and join the Confederacy, becoming the ninth state to do so. Its strategic position on the Mississippi River made it an important theater of the Civil War, with major battles at Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove, and Arkansas Post.

After the Battle of the Wilderness, Grant ordered the Army of the Potomac to march south toward Spotsylvania Court House rather than retreat north. When soldiers realized they were advancing, cheers erupted along the columns. This decision marked a fundamental change in Union strategy, Grant would fight Lee continuously for 11 months.

The German airship Hindenburg burst into flames while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people and effectively ending the era of rigid airships. The disaster was captured on film and in Herbert Morrison's famous radio broadcast: "Oh, the humanity!" The catastrophe ended plans for military dirigible development.

The U.S. Army Ordnance Department began formal evaluation of Robert H. Goddard's rocketry patents and design data at Goddard's laboratory in Roswell, New Mexico, a wartime effort that eventually informed Jet Assisted Takeoff and early rocket engine development.

Lt. Gen. Wainwright surrendered Corregidor and all remaining forces in the Philippines to the Japanese.

As the Third Reich disintegrated, German commanders across Europe raced to surrender to Western Allies rather than the Soviets. Admiral Doenitz's government negotiated partial surrenders while delaying final capitulation to allow more soldiers and civilians to flee westward. Full unconditional surrender came the next day at Reims.

Medical student and RAF officer Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile at Iffley Road, Oxford. The achievement was widely covered as a symbol of postwar British recovery and British military physical training standards.

The Channel Tunnel linking Folkestone and Coquelles was formally opened, immediately shifting NATO reinforcement planning for a land route from the United Kingdom to continental Europe that bypassed the vulnerable Channel ports.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron VMFA-142, the last Marine Corps squadron flying the original F/A-18A Hornet, stood down from operational status as Marine aviation completed the transition to C and D model Hornets ahead of the F-35B fielding.