November 26, 1944 - V-1 "buzz bombs" (right) and V-2 rockets strike at Antwerp, while a V-2 hits a Woolworth store in London. Initially proposed in 1939, the concept of a flying bomb was not embraced by the Luftwaffe until 1942. Quickly moved into development, the V-1 was powered by a pulse jet engine and carried a 1,870-lb. warhead. Ready for service in mid-1944, the first V-1 attacks on London began on June 13. Largely unguided, the V-1 earned the name "buzz bomb" due to the distinctive sound of its engine. Though the Allies quickly developed effective interception techniques, the V-1 threat was not ended until the launch sites were overrun by Allied troops. Had the concept been embraced earlier, could the V-1 have had a decisive impact on the war?

Photograph Courtesy of the US Air Force

November 23, 1914 - US forces depart Veracruz after a seven-month occupation. In the wake of the April 1914 Tampico Affair, Pres. Woodrow Wilson demanded that the government of Mexican usurper Gen. Victoriano Huerta offer a salute to the American flag. The latest in several Mexican-American issues, Wilson authorized the US Navy to occupy the port of Veracruz when his demands were not met and to block a shipment of arms. Landing on April 21, Marines and sailors from RAdm. Frank F. Fletcher's squadron seized the waterfront and engaged Mexican forces. Reinforced overnight, Fletcher occupied the entire city the next day. Remaining in place for seven months, American forces departed after mediation by Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Was the occupation of Veracruz a necessary action or an overreaction by the Wilson Administration?

Photograph Courtesy of the US Naval History & Heritage Command

November 22, 1864 - Confederate General John Bell Hood's (right) Army of Tennessee enters Tennessee en route to its destruction. Born in Kentucky, Hood graduated from West Point in 1853. Immediately joining Confederate forces at the beginning of the Civil War, he established himself a gifted brigade and division leader in Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. An aggressive, rash commander, he specialized in offensive operations. Wounded at Gettysburg, he played a key role in the Battle of Chickamauga and lost a leg in the fighting. A friend of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, he was given a corps command in the Army of Tennessee in early 1864. Critical of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, he was given command of the army by Davis in July 1864. Conducting a series of bloody attacks, he was forced from Atlanta by Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman. Attacking into Tennessee that fall, he wrecked his army at Franklin before being routed at Nashville in December. Share your thoughts on Hood - offensive star or rash failure - or both?

Photograph Courtesy of the National Archives & Records Administration

November 20, 1917 - British forces open the Battle of Cambrai. With the failure of the offensives against Passchendaele, British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig approved an attack against Cambrai. Featuring the first large-scale tank assault in history, the attack began on November 20 and saw British forces make swift gains. Increasingly bogged down by arriving German reserves, the offensive ground to a halt on November 28. Two days later, the Germans launched a massive counterattack using new "stormtrooper" tactics which threw back the British. By the end of the campaign on December 6, the front had returned to the pre-battle status-quo. An initial success, how could the British have made this a decisive victory?

Photograph Source: Public Domain