Daily Archives: February 19, 2015

Operation Rolling Thunder postponed due to coup attempt in Saigon 50 years ago today (Feb 19 1965)

1960s, Cold War, Vietnam War


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - LBJ Goes to War [3/11]' (Feb. 19, 1965, at 26:18)

(Friday, February 19, 1965; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The planned Feb. 20, 1965, launch of Operation Rolling Thunder, an extended bombing campaign to force North Vietnam to stop supporting Vietcong guerrillas in the South, was postponed today due to a coup attempt in Saigon.

Allied warships launch initial attack on Ottoman forces in the Dardanelles 100 years ago this hour (Feb 19 1915)

1910s, World War I


Video: 'La bataille des Dardanelles (1915)'

(Friday, February 19, 1915, 7:30 a.m. local time; during Naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign, part of World War I) — British and French warships launched their initial attack today on Ottoman forces in the Dardanelles, a strait in northwestern Turkey. The Gallipoli Campaign that followed proved disastrous for the Allies.