November 5 in Military History

English authorities arrested Guy Fawkes in a cellar beneath the House of Lords, uncovering 36 barrels of gunpowder intended to destroy Parliament and King James I. The foiled plot reshaped English internal security, drove centuries of anti-Catholic policy, and established precedents for the treatment of political explosives that informed later military doctrine.

Frederick the Great, outnumbered nearly two to one, destroyed a combined French and Holy Roman Empire army at Rossbach in just 90 minutes. Cavalry commander Seydlitz delivered a devastating flank charge that shattered Allied columns before they could deploy. Prussian casualties were approximately 700 against 10,000 Allied killed, wounded, and 5,000 captured.

Approximately 35,000 Russian troops attacked outnumbered British positions above Sevastopol in thick fog. The battle devolved into hand-to-hand combat, earning the name "The Soldiers' Battle." British and French forces held, inflicting nearly 12,000 Russian casualties.

President Lincoln removed Major General George B. McClellan from command of the Army of the Potomac, exasperated by McClellan's chronic failure to pursue Lee after Antietam. McClellan had taken six weeks and endless prodding to begin crossing the Potomac. Lincoln replaced him with Major General Ambrose Burnside, who would lead the army to disaster at Fredericksburg.

Suffragist Susan B. Anthony was arrested in Rochester, New York, for casting a ballot in the presidential election. Her case energized the movement that would eventually produce the 19th Amendment in 1920 and military women's suffrage that enabled the WAC, WAVES, and modern gender-integrated armed forces.

British and Empire forces captured the ruined village of Passchendaele, ending a 103-day offensive that cost roughly 275,000 Allied and 220,000 German casualties. The campaign became synonymous with the tactical exhaustion and mud-bound horror of trench warfare and reshaped British doctrine on offensive operations.

Armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay, sole escort for 37-ship Convoy HX 84, turned to engage the pocket battleship Admiral Scheer. Captain Edward Fegen steered directly at the warship, fighting for two hours until Jervis Bay sank with 190 crew including Fegen. The sacrifice allowed 32 of 37 merchant ships to escape. Fegen received a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The Atlanta-class anti-aircraft cruiser USS Reno was struck by a torpedo from submarine I-41 east of the Philippines. Reno survived through intensive damage control and a 1,500-mile tow to Ulithi, illustrating the resilience of late-war US cruiser design and the logistical reach of the Pacific Fleet service force.

British paratroopers of 3 PARA seized El Gamil airfield while French paratroopers took Port Fuad during the Suez Crisis, the first combat parachute operation since World War II. Though militarily successful, the invasion drew furious condemnation from the U.S. and Soviet Union, forcing a humiliating withdrawal that marked the end of Britain and France as independent global military powers.

Army Major Nidal Hasan opened fire in the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 and wounding 32 in the deadliest shooting at a U.S. military installation. Victims included soldiers preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. Hasan, who had been in contact with al-Qaeda-linked cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, was convicted at court-martial and sentenced to death.