Friday, November 14, 1975. The Madrid Accords.

By Tiris_al-Gharbiyya_Location.png: Н.Сидоров.Original uploader was Nicolay Sidorov at ru.wikipedia.derivative work: Spesh531 (talk) - Tiris_al-Gharbiyya_Location.png, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14966331

The Madrid Accords between Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania set out six principles which would end Spanish presence in the territory of Spanish Sahara and arrange a temporary administration in the area pending a referendum.

Israeli troops pulled back from their positions in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in accordance with the peace treat arranged in September.  As part of this they turned over the Ras Suhr oil fields captured in 1967 to the United Nations.  The US agreed to pay Israel $350,000,000 for the loss of oil revenue.

Last edition:

Tuesday, November 11, 1975. Angola independent and at war.

Labels: 1970s, 1975, Angola, Angolan Civil War, Australia, Blog Mirror, Politics, Portugal, Portuguese Empire, Veterans Day

The Romans had expeditions that went all the way into what is now Nigeria.

And across the Sarah at that.

Simply amazing.

Saturday, January 16, 1943. The RAF Bombs Berlin, the Red Army prevails at Velikiye Luki, the Afrika Korps repulsed at Bou Arada.

A heavy Royal Air Force raid saw Berlin bombed for the first time in 14 months, seeing the return of the British air arm for the first time since November 7, 1941.  The resulting fires from 1,000 bombs on the city could be seen for 100 miles.

On this, Sarah Sundin notes:

Today in World War II History—January 16, 1943: RAF bombs Berlin for first time since November 1941, with the first use of target indicator flares to mark the target for bombers farther back in the stream.

Only one British bomber failed to return.

Sundin also noted in her blog that the British 8th Army and the Free French, marching across the Sahara from Lake Chad, linked up.  That was a remarkable feat by any measure.

In North Africa, the Afrika Korps attacked at Bou Arada, Tunisia, and was repelled.

The Red Army prevailed in the Battle of Velikiye Luki, sometimes called the Little Stalingrad of the North.

Following the war, the Soviets tried a collective set of German soldiers, ranging from a private to a general, who had fought at the battle.  Nine were sentenced to death for crimes related to anti-partisan warfare and hung in the town square in January 1946.

Iraq declared war on Germany, Italy, and Japan.

You'd think, by this point, the message to the Germans should have been pretty clear.

The cover story of Science News was on radios for the war.