This Day In History, October 3rd.
Five Historical Events That Happened on October 3rd
Julius Caesar's Roman army beats the Gauls headed by Vercingetorix in a decisive battle in Alesia, France, in 52 BC.
King Edward I of England hangs, draws, and quarters Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Wales' last independent king, in 1283.
The last day of the Battle of Chickamauga, one of the deadliest conflicts of the American Civil War, which culminated in a Confederate victory, was on this date in 1863.
1929: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes is renamed Yugoslavia, which translates as "Land of the South Slavs."
1990: The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) dissolves and is integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).
52 BC: Battle of Alesia - Julius Caesar's Roman army defeats the Gauls led by Vercingetorix in a decisive battle in Alesia, France.
The fight of Alesia was a pivotal fight in the Gallic Wars between the Roman Republic and Vercingetorix's Gauls. The fight took place in eastern France in 52 BC near the town of Alesia (modern-day Alise-Sainte-Reine). Julius Caesar's Roman army defeated Vercingetorix's soldiers after a protracted siege, ultimately completing the Gallic Wars and establishing Roman dominance over Gaul (modern-day France). Caesar used novel tactical tactics in this conflict, including the construction of a large stronghold surrounding Alesia to shut off the Gauls' supplies and reinforcements.
1283: Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last independent ruler of Wales, is executed by hanging, drawing and quartering by King Edward I of England.
Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the younger brother of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Wales' last independent ruler. Dafydd took over as commander of the Welsh resistance against the English after Llywelyn died in 1282. He was finally apprehended and carried to Shrewsbury by King Edward I's soldiers, where he was tried and condemned of high treason. On October 3, 1283, Dafydd was publicly killed by hanging, drawing, and quartering, a cruel type of execution typical in medieval England for traitors. With Dafydd's death, the English crown effectively annexed Wales, and it would remain under English control until the twentieth century.
1863: The last day of the Battle of Chickamauga, one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, which resulted in a Confederate victory.
During the American Civil War, the Battle of Chickamauga took place in northern Georgia from September 18 to 20, 1863. The Confederate Army of Tennessee, led by General Braxton Bragg, clashed with the Union Army of the Cumberland, led by General William Rosecrans. The Confederates were victorious after three days of furious warfare, due in part to reinforcements commanded by General James Longstreet. With almost 34,000 casualties (including dead, wounded, and missing), the combat was one of the bloodiest of the war. Despite their win at Chickamauga, the Confederates were unable to capitalize on it, and Union troops finally broke the Confederate siege of Chattanooga later that year.
1929: The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is renamed Yugoslavia, meaning "Land of the South Slavs."
Following the end of World War I and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918. Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and areas of modern-day North Macedonia and Kosovo formed the new kingdom. King Alexander I called the country Yugoslavia on October 3, 1929. The new name, which means "Land of the South Slavs," was chosen to reflect the country's multi-ethnic makeup and dedication to South Slavic unity. The term Yugoslavia would be used until the country's disintegration in the early 1990s.
1990: Germany is reunified, as the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is dissolved and absorbed into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).
After more than four decades of conflict, Germany reunified on October 3, 1990. Following a wave of peaceful protests and demonstrations in East Germany that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November of that year, the reunification process began in 1989. Negotiations took conducted over the next few months between the governments of East and West Germany, as well as between East Germany and the other Soviet-bloc nations. Finally, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was dissolved on October 3, 1990, and its territory was integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The newly united country was renamed the Federal Republic of Germany, and Berlin was reestablished as its capital. Germany's reunification was a watershed point in history. The reunification of Germany was a watershed point in European history, signaling the end of the Cold War era.