September 8

1380:

Battle of Kulikovo - Russian forces defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols, stopping their advance.

1449:

Battle of Tumu Fortress - Mongolians capture the Chinese emperor

1514:

Battle of Orsha - In one of the biggest battles of that century, Belarussians and Poles defeat the Russian army

1760:

Montreal capitulates to the British

1796:

Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Bassano - French forces defeat Austrian troops at Bassano.

1855:

Sebastopol falls following a year long seige

1863:

American Civil War: Second Battle of Sabine Pass - On the Texas-Louisiana border at the mouth of the Sabine River, a small Confederate force thwarts a Union invasion of Texas.

1917:

Russian government reimposes death penalty everywhere for treason, desertion and cowardice

1941:

World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins. German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union's second-largest city, Leningrad. Stalin orders the Volga Deutsche deported to Siberia.

1943:

Eisenhower announces unconditional surrender of the Italians

1943:

World War II: United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly announces the surrender of Italy to the Allies.

1944:

World War II: London is hit by a V2 rocket for the first time.

1945:

Cold War: United States troops arrive to partition the southern part of Korea in response to Soviet troops occupying the northern part of the peninsula a month earlier.

1954:

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.