| Week
starting Saturday 5 March |
|
| Date |
Year |
Event |
|
| 5 |
1912 |
First use of dirigibles for military purposes in
reconnaissance behind enemy lines by Italy against Turkish forces near
Tripoli. |
| 5 |
1980 |
Joshua Mqabuko Nyangolo Nkomo forms a coalition
government with Robert Gabriel Mugabe in Zimbabwe. Nkomo's party, the
Zimbabwe African People's Union or ZAPU, won twenty seats in the new
Assembly - all in his tribal homeland of Matabeleland. Mugabe originally
offered Nkomo a ceremonial Presidency, but this was rejected and the post
of Minister of Home Affairs was accepted instead. |
|
|
For more on 5 March |
|
| 6 |
1957 |
Gold Coast and British Togoland (UN trust, previously
part of German colony of Togo) achieve independence as Ghana. |
| 6 |
1993 |
The strategic city of Huambo, central Angola, is
captured by União Nacional para a Independência total de Angola
(UNITA) rebels after a four-month battle. |
|
|
For more on 6 March |
|
| 7 |
1902 |
Anglo-Boer War: Battle of Tweebosch
British General Lord Methuen is amongst 872 prisoners taken at the Battle
of Tweebosch (or De Klipdrift) - during the battle 68 Brits are killed and
121 are wounded. Lord Methuen was hit in the thigh during the battle and as
he dismounted his horse was killed, falling on him and further breaking his
leg. (The medical officer treating Methuen in situ was also hit.) The Boer
commander, JH (Koos) de la Rey loses eight killed and 26 wounded. |
| 7 |
1994 |
It is reported that over 200 Hutu's have died during a
two day massacre in Burundi. Eyewitnesses blame the Tutsi-dominated army. |
|
|
For more on 7 March |
|
| 8 |
1902 |
Anglo-Boer War: Battle of Tweebosch
General De la Rey releases General Lord Methuen after his wounds are
treated. After only travelling 29 kilometres Methuen's party is once again
taken - De la Rey had been forced to reverse his decision by the burghers
of his Commando. |
| 8 |
1986 |
South African Police open fire on the 3,000 mourners
attending the funeral of an ANC guerrilla. |
|
|
For more on 8 March |
|
| 9 |
1905 |
Acting Governor general Paul Costermans commits suicide
following the investigation of Colonial policy in King Leopold II's Congo
Free state. |
| 9 |
1905 |
Archaeologist Theodore Davis enters the tomb of Yuya and
Tjuyu (the parents of Queen Tiye) in the Valley of the Kings, Egypt. |
|
|
For more on 9 March |
|
| 10 |
1929 |
Egyptian women are granted (limited) divorce rights by
the national government. |
| 10 |
1943 |
World War II: North Africa
General Erwin Rommel has lost the battle for North Africa and, under the
guise of sick leave, departs from Tunisia. |
|
|
For more on 10 March |
|
| 11 |
1922 |
The South African Industrial Federation, a white miners
union, has run riot in the Rand Gold mining district: sabotaging trains,
attacking natives, and firing at the police. They are protesting against
proposals to open semi-skilled jobs to non-white workers. |
| 11 |
1986 |
South African Police fire at 3,000 schoolchildren
protesting against the recent arrest of 26 students. "The [Truth and
Reconciliation] Commission [of South Africa] finds that the Kangwane police
attacked them without provocation and without giving them any warning to
disperse, fired repeated rounds of live ammunition into the unarmed crowd.
Three students were killed and eighty were seriously injured, most being
wounded in the back." |
|
|
For more on 11 March |
|
