If memory serves, Rommel actually wrote the book on armored warfare.   Much like in the American Civil War, the loosing side had the better generals.

I don’t think the UK has one specific day, like 4th of July for the US. But we do have a few days that are pertinent to us. Examples are:

Guy Fawkes Night - 5th November
Burns Night - 25th January (mainly for Scotland)

Also each country of the UK has its own saints day, George, Andrew, David and Patrick, though each seems to celebrate St Patrick as it usually involves lots of alcohol!

In reply to OceanLake (msg # 5):

Most English people wouldn’t have a clue when the Magna Carta was signed, and we certainly don’t have any celebration of it.

BTW it was indeed 15th June 1215 (I checked on Wikipedia as I had no idea!)

In reply to Jarodemo (msg # 9):

Most of the world seems to celebrate St Patrick, Irish or not.  ;)

The most remembered date in England is 1066, when the upper classes learnt to speak French in a hurry.

Saint Patrick's day is not a Thing in Scotland and not particularly observed in Ireland, either. It's just sort of...there like the other saint's days. No-one gets a day off. Maybe some pubs will run a deal. The biggest holiday in Scotland is Hogmanay (New Year, but drunk and on fire) the most remembered date probably 1746.

1066 was the one of the dates I was taught as a kid as being important for England.

18 June 1815 the battle of Waterloo was another important date when I learned history in school

The most celebrated date in English history - 30 July 1966 - England beat West Germany 4-2 in the FIFA world cup final.

Every time another world cup comes around, the spirit of '66 gets resurrected, and dies of embarrassment again as the England team fails to repeat the performance.  But for the few weeks before the crash, it's glorious!
This message was last edited by the user at 11:17, Sun 07 June 2020.

I know that parts of Africa and South America were involved, hence my sentence containing the word "most'.  I also know those continents aren't mono-states.

Considering that large parts of Africa and South America were colonies of the major European powers no it extended to most of the continent. Less so in South America but especially in Africa These African and Southasian colonies of France allowed them to continue the war even after losing Paris.

In the US, it just might be National Donut Day.  Why?  Well, because there are two of them.

June 5 and November 5.  What other 'national' day pops up twice?  (Actually, there might be more than one - I haven't checked.)

August 29, 1997.  That's the day Skynet became self-aware ...
This message was last edited by the user at 14:14, Sun 07 June 2020.

Does that make July 4th, 1990 the most agonized date?

In reply to Locke1221 (msg # 19):

More like, "Just another in a long list of disappointments."  :/

Oh I know all about disappointment, I pull for Everton.

I'm unsure what we're looking for here...

Are we talking 'Memorable' as in, 'Everyone remembers what they were doing/where they were when it happened'? Or 'Remembered' as in 'You memorized this date either thanks to school or because it's easy to remember'? Or 'Celebrated' as in 'We celebrate this day every year'?

If it's the first, I feel the obvious answers are 9/11, or 7/7, or for the older American crowd 11/22/63 or 1/28/86 (that's the Kennedy Assassination and Challenger explosion, respectively) or maybe 12/8/80 if you were a Beatles fan. The second, well... you can insert any number of dates there, depending on your country - I couldn't even begin to guess what all the important historical dates are beyond 6/6/44 (D-Day) and 12/7/41 (Pearl Harbor), since I can only vaguely remember years of various wars and such and not specific dates within them. The third is where I feel things like July 4th, July 14th (Bastille Day), March 17th (St. Paddy's Day), 3/14 (Pi Day, because everyone loves pie), 5/4, etc, seem to belong.

In reply to Locke1221 (msg # 21):

You have the condolences of a life long Liverpool supporter.

In reply to Jarodemo (msg # 10):

I have to think that the truly most important days aren't really celebrated or remembered.   Like the one you mentioned.

I am rather thinking the day something happened that that did the most to define the nation. Maybe Bastille Day (14 July 1789) for France, Cinco de Mayo (May 5, 1862) for Mexico, maybe 7 June 1905 (separation from Sweden).

We have a spirit of 66 in the US, too, nearly dead since the interstate freeway system was built. But some of us remember and still drive America's Highway. LA to Chicago. Still plenty of Kitsch surviving along it, too.

But for Dates...12/7. Means more to me. Its also the day I enlisted in the Navy.
This message was last edited by the user at 01:34, Mon 08 June 2020.

In reply to tmagann (msg # 26):

I live in one of the big Route 66 towns. It certainly hasn't been forgotten.

Not if you live on it, no, but try explaining it to your teenaged daughter while traveling along it in the RV.

God she made me feel so old. Playing Mel Torme singing about it in the background probably didn't help any, either.

Not a thing wrong with Mel Torme. I miss his cameos on Night Court.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go put on some music.

I'm doggone near dead center on ole 66, and it was easy to get my kids to figure it out. I just told them it was the highway that inspired the road passing through Radiator Springs.

I live in the "birthplace", where it was first designated Route 66. The annual car shows make my commute into a waking nightmare of bumper-to-bumper traffic and old people in lawn chairs.

On that note, with regards to the thread topic, the Mother Road Festival is the last weekend in September, also known as "Avoid Glenstone Avenue Weekend".

Some Polish dates:

15 July 1410 - the day we kicked the butt of Teutonic Order at Grunwald; I suppose most people remember the year, but not the exact date

11 November 1918 - the sort-of arbitrary date marking Poland regaining independence after 123 years of non-existence; celebrated as Independence Day state holiday

1 September 1939 - the start of WW2 and of German invasion of Poland that resulted in the 6 years long nightmare of genocidal occupation; certainly one of the darkest dates in all of Polish history

4 June 1989 - the date of the first semi-free elections since the rise of the Communist regime; still celebrated, at least by the political mainstream (not by the current government, which is *not* mainstream - but let's not get into politics...)