Siege of Montségur during the Albigensian Crusade: The Cathar stronghold falls to the Crusaders.
View Historical Events by Day:
On This Day in History: March 12
Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894 when a candy merchant in Vicksburg, Mississippi, began bottling the fountain drink to make it accessible to customers in the rural areas. The straight bottles were significantly different from the contour bottles which became famous later
The invasion of Austria begins on March 12, 1938 as German soldiers in tanks and armored vehicles crossed the border into Austria, encountering no resistance.
Hitler joined the invaded forces as they rushed towards Vienna and in Linz, where he had attended school, he called for an immediate Anschluss (Annexation). The Austrian parliament formally approved the annexation the next day on March 13, 1938 and Austria, became a province of Germany. More
President Harry S. Truman outlines the U.S. policy to contain Soviet expansion in a speech to a joint session of Congress on March 12,1947. The announcement is referred to as the "Truman Doctrine" and is considered to be the official start of the Cold War. More
Mauritius officially achieves independence from British rule, on March 12, 1968, becoming an independent state with a new constitution within the Commonwealth.
Independence came after 158 years of colonial rule when the British seized control of the Island from the French in 1810 during the Napoleonic wars. Mauritius went on to became a republic, with a president as head of state on March 12, 1992.