Battles of January 27 including descriptions of the battles, geographic locations, associated artwork, and museums where a person can find associated artifacts and artwork.
Songs of the day:
To Start Anew – variation 1 (Yiddish folk song)
To Start Anew – variation 2 (Yiddish folk song)
Tokugawa Fallen (Traditional Japanese Minyo Song)
Fushimi Shadows (Skate Punk Modern Song)
Restoration Dawn – variation 1 (Pop Funk Modern Song)
Restoration Dawn – variation 2 (Pop Funk Modern Song)
1. Battle of Toba-Fushimi
Date: January 27, 1868 (January 27-31, 1868)
War: Boshin War (Japan)
Cause: Tensions had reached a breaking point between the forces of the Imperial Court (allied with the Satsuma and Chōshū domains) and the Tokugawa Shogunate. Following the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu’s “resignation,” dissatisfactions regarding his continued influence led him to march his army from Osaka toward Kyoto to deliver a letter of protest to the Emperor, sparking a direct military confrontation.
Result: Decisive Imperial victory. Despite being outnumbered 3 to 1, the Imperial forces possessed superior modern weaponry (Armstrong guns and Minie rifles). The defeat of the Shogunate forces shattered their morale and ultimately led to the Fall of Edo and the Meiji Restoration, modernizing Japan.
Paintings & Art Painting: Picture of the Great Battle of Toba-Fushimi (Toba Fushimi Daisenso no Zu)
- Artist: Unknown / Utagawa School (Often attributed to artists like Mousai or Utagawa Kuniteru II who created woodblock prints of the event).
- Year: c. 1868
Museums & Artifacts Kyoto National Museum (Kyoto, Japan)
- Description of holdings: The museum holds a significant collection of artifacts from the Meiji Restoration era, including Nishiki-e (woodblock prints) depicting the battle, imperial uniforms, and weaponry used by the “Satcho” alliance.
Location
- General: Fushimi Ward, Kyoto, Japan.
- Coordinates: 34°55′47″N 135°44′25″E
Recommended Book The Collapse of the Tokugawa Bakufu, 1862–1868 by Conrad Totman.
2. The Lifting of the Siege of Leningrad (Operation January Thunder)
Date: January 27, 1944 (Official end of the siege) (September 8, 1941-January 27, 1944)
War: World War II (Eastern Front)
Cause: German Army Group North had besieged the city of Leningrad (St. Petersburg) since September 1941, aiming to starve the city into submission. The Soviet Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive was launched to permanently drive German forces away from the city outskirts.
Result: Soviet victory. On January 27, Joseph Stalin formally announced the end of the siege. It was the deadliest blockade in human history, resulting in over 1 million civilian deaths, but the city was never taken.
Paintings & Art Painting: Leningrad Woman (Leningradka)
- Artist: Yaroslav Nikolaev
- Year: 1942 (Created during the siege)
Museums & Artifacts State Memorial Museum of the Defense and Siege of Leningrad (St. Petersburg, Russia)
- Description of holdings: This museum is entirely dedicated to the event. It houses personal diaries (including that of Tanya Savicheva), bread ration cards, shrapnel, improvised stoves (“burzhuyka”), and extensive art collections created by artists trapped within the city during the blockade.
Location
- General: St. Petersburg, Russia (The siege perimeter surrounded the city).
- Coordinates: 59°56′N 30°19′E
Recommended Book Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944 by Anna Reid.
3. Liberation of Auschwitz (Vistula–Oder Offensive)
Date: January 27, 1945
War: World War II
Cause: As part of the massive Soviet Vistula–Oder Offensive, the Red Army pressed west across Poland toward Germany. The 60th Army of the First Ukrainian Front advanced upon the town of Oświęcim to secure the area and key bridges.
Result: Soviet Victory / Liberation. Soldiers of the 322nd Rifle Division entered the camp, encountering brief resistance from retreating German units. They liberated approximately 7,000 surviving prisoners. The date is now commemorated internationally as Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Paintings & Art Painting: Arrival of a Transport (and other sketches)
- Artist: David Olère (A survivor who worked in the Sonderkommando; his art is primary visual testimony).
- Year: c. 1946–1950s
Museums & Artifacts Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (Oświęcim, Poland)
- Description of holdings: The site itself is a living museum, preserving the barracks, gas chambers, and crematoria. Collections include piles of victims’ shoes, suitcases with names, canisters of Zyklon B, and art created illegally by prisoners during their captivity.
Location
- General: Oświęcim, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland.
- Coordinates: 50°02′09″N 19°10′42″E
Recommended Book Auschwitz: A New History by Laurence Rees.
Books for sale
Contact Information
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