November in Military History
Veterans Day, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and key WWII turning points make November a month of reflection and resolve.
314 events across 30 days
Featured Events in November
November 11
The Armistice: World War I Ends
1918
November 1
The Algerian War of Independence Begins
1954
November 2
The Balfour Declaration
1917
November 3
The Continental Army Is Disbanded
The Continental Army was officially disbanded at New Windsor, New York, following the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolutionary War. General Washington issued farewell orders expressing gratitude for his soldiers' service, and only two small detachments were retained to guard West Point and Fort Pitt, establishing America's founding commitment to civilian governance over standing armies.
November 4
Iranian Students Storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
Approximately 500 Iranian students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seizing 66 American diplomats, Marine guards, and staff. Fifty-two hostages would be held for 444 days through failed diplomacy, a disastrous rescue attempt, and a presidential election. The crisis fundamentally reshaped U.S. military doctrine around special operations, hostage rescue, and force projection in the Middle East.
Every Day in November
The Algerian War of Independence Begins
10 events · 1954
The Balfour Declaration
10 events · 1917
The Continental Army Is Disbanded
10 events · 1783
Iranian Students Storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
10 events · 1979
The Battle of Inkerman: "The Soldiers' Battle"
10 events · 1854
The Canadian Corps Captures Passchendaele
10 events · 1917
The Battle of Tippecanoe
10 events · 1811
Operation Torch: The Allied Invasion of North Africa
10 events · 1942
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
10 events · 1989
The Continental Congress Establishes the United States Marine Corps
10 events · 1775
The Armistice: World War I Ends
24 events · 1918
The First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal
10 events · 1942
Fall of Kabul: Northern Alliance Captures the Afghan Capital
10 events · 2001
The Coventry Blitz: Operation Moonlight Sonata
10 events · 1940
Sherman Begins the March to the Sea
10 events · 1864
Operation Paperclip: German Scientists Arrive in America
10 events · 1945
Elizabeth I Ascends to the English Throne
10 events · 1558
The Battle of the Somme Ends
10 events · 1916
The Gettysburg Address
10 events · 1863
The Nuremberg Trials Begin
10 events · 1945
The Son Tay Raid
10 events · 1970
The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
10 events · 1963
The Battle of Chattanooga Begins
10 events · 1863
First B-29 Raid on Tokyo from the Marianas
10 events · 1944
Evacuation Day: The British Leave New York
10 events · 1783
The Hull Note and the Fleet That Sailed for Pearl Harbor
10 events · 1941
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir Begins
10 events · 1950
The Tehran Conference Begins
10 events · 1943
The Sand Creek Massacre
10 events · 1864
The Battle of Franklin
10 events · 1864
Notable Military Figures Born in November
November 1
Godfrey Weitzel
Major General
Union engineer and general who led the first Federal troops into Richmond on April 3, 1865, becoming the first Union officer to occupy the Confederate capital. A graduate of West Point at age 20, Weitzel commanded the XXV Corps, one of the largest formations of Black soldiers in the war, and received the surrender of the city from its mayor.
1835–1884
November 1
Barry Sadler
Staff Sergeant
Green Beret medic who served in Vietnam and wrote "The Ballad of the Green Berets," which became the number-one hit in America in 1966 and the defining song of the Vietnam-era military. Wounded by a punji stake near Pleiku in 1965, Sadler later lived a turbulent life and died in 1989 from a gunshot wound sustained in Guatemala City.
1940–1989
November 2
Daniel Boone
Colonel
American frontiersman, explorer, and militia officer who became one of the first folk heroes of the United States. During the Revolutionary War, Boone defended the settlement of Boonesborough against British-allied Shawnee attacks, most notably the ten-day siege of 1778. His exploration of Kentucky through the Cumberland Gap opened the frontier for westward expansion.
1734–1820
November 2
Andrew Humphreys
Major General
One of the finest division commanders of the Civil War, Humphreys led his troops with conspicuous bravery at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. He later served as Meade's chief of staff and commanded the II Corps through the final campaigns to Appomattox. A trained engineer and scientist, he also produced the definitive study of Mississippi River flooding.
1810–1883
November 3
William George Barker
Lieutenant Colonel
The most decorated war hero in Canadian and British Empire history. A World War I fighter ace credited with 50 aerial victories, Barker earned the Victoria Cross for a legendary solo engagement on October 27, 1918, when he single-handedly fought approximately 60 German aircraft despite being wounded three times, shooting down four before crash-landing. He died in a flying accident at age 35.
1894–1930
November 3
Elizabeth P. Hoisington
Brigadier General
One of the first two women promoted to brigadier general in the United States Army. Enlisted in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps in 1942, served as director of the Women's Army Corps from 1966 to 1971, and was promoted to brigadier general on June 11, 1970, shattering one of the military's oldest glass ceilings.
1918–2007
November 4
King William III of Orange
King and Captain-General
Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In 1688, he invaded England with 14,000 troops and 463 ships in the Glorious Revolution, the last successful invasion of England, overthrowing James II and establishing Parliamentary supremacy. His military coalitions against Louis XIV's France set the template for European alliance warfare.
1650–1702
November 4
Walter Cronkite
War Correspondent
"The most trusted man in America" and one of history's most consequential war correspondents. In World War II he flew bombing missions with the 8th Air Force, landed in a glider with the 101st Airborne during Market Garden, and covered the Battle of the Bulge. His 1968 editorial declaring Vietnam a stalemate after visiting Tet Offensive front lines prompted LBJ to reportedly say, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America."
1916–2009
November 5
John Glover
Brigadier General
A Marblehead, Massachusetts fisherman whose regiment of sailors proved indispensable to American independence. Glover's men rowed Washington's army across the Delaware on Christmas night 1776 for the surprise attack on Trenton, and earlier evacuated the Continental Army from Long Island, saving the revolution. His regiment was one of the few racially integrated units in the Continental Army.
1732–1797
November 5
Eugene V. Debs
American labor leader and five-time presidential candidate who was imprisoned under the Espionage Act for opposing U.S. involvement in World War I. His 1918 Canton, Ohio speech against military conscription led to a ten-year sentence. He ran for president from prison in 1920, receiving nearly a million votes, and became a symbol of the tension between civil liberties and wartime security.
1855–1926
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About November in Military History
November has witnessed 314 significant military events spanning from the American Revolution to the modern era. Each day of November carries its own story of battles, innovations, sacrifices, and turning points that shaped the course of military history.
Our day-by-day coverage includes detailed narratives, historical context, images from military archives, and connections to our broader library of military history articles. Whether you're researching a specific date or browsing for fascinating stories, November has no shortage of compelling military history.