This day in history

On this day in World War II, an Allied force of 7,000 men carries out a daytime raid against German positions at the French seaport of Dieppe. Aided by tanks and aircraft, the commando force, 5,000 Canadians, 2,000 British soldiers, and a handful of American and Free French troops, gained a foothold on the beach in the face of a furious German defence. During nine hours of fighting, the Allies failed to destroy more than a handful of their targets and suffered 3,600 dead.

Despite its high costs, the Dieppe raid provided valuable logistical information later used in planning the successful 1944 Allied landing at Normandy.

The UN’s chief envoy to Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and 17 other people are killed when a bomb explodes at the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad.

Soviet hardliners attempt to topple President Mikhail Gorbachev in a coup, putting tanks on the streets of Moscow, banning demonstrations and imposing a state of emergency. The coup is declared a failure less than 48 hours later.
 

In England, Michael Ryan shoots dead 16 people in the Berkshire town of Hungerford, before turning the gun on himself.

In America, after a five year run the popular television series Charlie’s Angels comes to an end.

Cambodia and the U.S. sign a military aid agreement worth $40 million for the fiscal year ending 30 June, 1971.

In the USSR, captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for espionage.

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 5 into space with the dogs Belka and Strelka onboard.

Mary Queen of Scots arrives in Scotland to assume the throne after spending 13 years in France.