September 16th, 1968 – The Battle of Owerri

Conflict: Nigerian Civil War

Combatants: Biafrans vs. Nigerians

Location: Nigeria

Outcome: Nigerian victory

Following the secession of Biafra, the Nigerian military invaded the nascent nation in the summer of 1967. Nigerian forces gradually absorbed half of Biafran territory before holding position for peace talks in May/June of 1968. When peace talks failed, the Nigerian offensive resumed and, after capturing Aba, rolled on to capture the city of Owerri on September 16th of 1968.

Soldiers in the Nigerian Civil War by Peter Williams

Points of Interest:

• Biafra surrendered in January of 1970 after suffering nearly 2 million military and civilian casualties.

• Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the leader of the Biafran Secession, fled to exile in the Ivory Coast at the end of the war.

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Sources:

Dupuy, Trevor N., Johnson, Curt, & Bongard, David L. (1992). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military Biography. New York: Castle Books (HarperCollins).

Dupuy, R. Ernest & Dupuy, Trevor N. (1993). The Harper's Encyclopedia of Military History. New York: HarperCollins.

Eggenberger, David (1985). An Encyclopedia of Battles: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present. New York: Dover Publications, Inc.