NOVEMBER 26
1855
Great Polish Poet Died. Adam Mickiewicz died on November 26, 1855. Mickiewicz was a prominent figure of the Polish Romantic period, and is considered as one of the greatest poet in the history of Polish literature, the greatest among Slavic and European poets, as well as one of Poland'sThree Bards (the others being Zygmunt Krasiński and Juliusz Słowacki). His was revered and his fame reached cult status. Mickiewicz has been compared in Poland and in Europe with Byron and Goethe. Upon hearing of Mickiewicz' death, Krasiński wrote: "For men of my generation, he was milk and honey, gall and life's blood: we all descend from him. He carried us off on the surging billow of his inspiration and cast us into the world." One of his great works was the narrative poem, "Konrad Wallenrod" (1828), which described battles of the Christian order of Teutonic Knights pitted against the Lithuanians. It is a thinly veiled allusion to the long feud between Russia and Poland, the subterfuge against a stronger enemy, and an analysis of the moral dilemmas faced by the Polish insurgents who would soon launch the November 1830 Uprising. To the youth of the era, the poem was seen as a "call to arms" and was praised by Ludwik Nabielak, an Uprising leader. But it was considered controversial to the older generation. Miłosz described Konrad Wallenrod as "the most committed politically of all Mickiewczi's poems." Though the point of the poem was obvious to the Polish people, it escaped the Russian censors and was published without opposition or censorship.
1919
1943
British ship HMT Rohna was sunk. On November 25, 1943 at 12:30 hrs, Rohna and four other troop ships departed French Algeria and was joined later by Convoy KMF 26 which was passing on its way from Britain to Alexandria. The next day at around 1630 hrs the convoy, situated just off Bougie was attacked by approximately 30 Luftwaffe Heinkel He 177A heavy bombers, escorted by Junkers Ju 88 aircraft and followed by six and nine torpedo bombers. Meanwhile the convoy was greatly disadvantaged having only limited air escort of four land-based Free French Air Force Spitfires, which were later relieved by RAF Spitfires. The He 177As launched about 60 Henschel Hs 293 radio-guided, rocket-boosted glide bombs on the convoy. In return, the convoy launched its combined anti-aircraft fire, and shot down at least two enemy aircraft and damaged several others. The Rohna also joined in the attack, with machine guns, Oerlikon autocannons and about 20 rounds from her 12-pounder gun. In the battle, the Rohna was the only casualty. At about 1715 hrs an He 177A, piloted by Hans Dochtermann, launched a glide bomb, striking Rohna at the after end of her engine room and Number Six troop deck on her port side. Though the impact was about 15 feet (5 m) above the water line, it flooded the engine room and knocked out all electrical equipment including her pumps, and setting the ship on fire. About 90 minutes after the missile hit the ship there was a rending noise, probably due to the collapse of a bulkhead aft. Clouds of smoke came from Number Three Hold and the ship settled by the stern, at which point the men threw the last four rafts overboard and abandoned ship. Casualties were 1,138 men killed, which included 1,015 US personnel, five of the Rohna's officers. The attack was the largest loss of US troops at sea due to enemy action in a single incident. An additional 35 US troops later succumbed to their injuries. USS Pioneer rescued 606 survivors.
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