17 January 1781 – Battle of Cowpens – Occurring during the latter portion of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, the Battle of Cowpens pitted the combined Continental Army and militia forces under the command of General Daniel Morgan against the Royal Dragoons and Highlanders under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Bannastre Tarleton in the backcountry of South Carolina. Utilizing the effects of sharpshooters, retrograde operations and a fierce bayonet charge, Morgan turned back the Royal British forces with a staggering result: 110 British dead, 200 wounded and 500 captured, compared to Morgan’s losses: 12 killed and 60 wounded. The consequential results was General Lord Cornwallis ordering the British retreat of the Carolinas, paving the way to final surrender at Yorktown, Virginia.
17 January 1991 – Operation Desert Storm commences: ***20th Anniversary*** – After a deliberate deployment and build up of combat, combat support and combat service support combined US and coalition military forces, an extensive aerial bombing campaign began on 17 January 1991. The coalition flew over 100,000 sorties, dropping 88,500 tons of bombs, widely destroying Iraqi military and government command infrastructure. The air campaign was commanded by USAF Lieutenant General Chuck Horner, Commander-in-Chief, Forward, US Central Command, at this time while General H. Norman Schwarzkopf commanded overall operations from CENTCOM HQ in Florida. The air campaign marked the beginning of general offensive operations against Iraq, codenamed Operation Desert Storm, one day after the deadline for retreat of Iraqi Army forces from Kuwait as dictated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 678.
21 January 1903 – Birth of modern National Guard – The Militia Act of 1903 (32 Stat. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Statutes_at_Large> 775), also known as the Dick Act, was initiated by United States Secretary of War <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secretary_of_War> Elihu Root <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elihu_Root> following the Spanish–American War <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish%E2%80%93American_War> of 1898, after the war demonstrated weaknesses in the militia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_(United_States)> , and in the entire U.S. military. U.S. Senator <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate> Charles W. F. Dick <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._F._Dick> , a Major General <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_General> in the Ohio National Guard <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio_Army_National_Guard> and the chair of the Committee on the Militia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_Committee_on_the_Militia> [1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militia_Act_of_1903#cite_note-0> , sponsored the 1903 Act towards the end of the 57th U.S. Congress <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/57th_United_States_Congress> . Under this legislation, passed January 21, 1903, the organized militia of the States were given federal status to the militia, and required to conform to Regular Army organization within five years. The act also required National Guard units to attend 24 drills and five days annual training a year, and, for the first time, provided for pay for annual training. In return for the increased Federal funding which the act made available, militia units were subject to inspection by Regular Army officers, and had to meet certain standards
22 January 1944 – Allied forces land at Anzio – Operation Shingle (January 22, 1944), during the Italian Campaign <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Campaign_(World_War_II)> of World War II <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II> , was an Allied <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allies_of_World_War_II> amphibious landing against Axis <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powers> forces in the area of Anzio <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzio,_Italy> and Nettuno <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettuno> , Italy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy> . The operation was commanded by Lieutenant General John P. Lucas <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_P._Lucas> , VI Corps commander and was intended to outflank German <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany> forces of the Winter Line <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Line> and enable an attack on Rome <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome> . The resulting combat is commonly called the Battle of Anzio. Controversial failure to exploit the successes of the beachhead with an advance to seize Rome resulted in the replacement of Lucas with 3rd Infantry Division commander Major General Lucian Truscott.
22 January 1969 РOperation Dewey Canyon begins РOperation Dewey Canyon was the last major offensive by the United States Marine Corps <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps> under command of US Army I Corps during the Vietnam War <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War> . It took place from January 22 through March 18, 1969 and involved a sweep of the North Vietnamese Army <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Vietnamese_Army> (NVA)-dominated A Shau Valley <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Shau_Valley> by the 9th Marine Regiment <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9th_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)> reinforced by elements of the 3rd Marine Regiment <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)> . The 56 days of combat were a tactical success but did not stop the overall flow of North Vietnamese men and mat̩riel into South Vietnam <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Vietnam> . The 9th Marine Regiment and attached units were awarded the Army Presidential Unit Citation <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Unit_Citation> for their actions in Operation Dewey Canyon.
