Historical eventNovember 261939

Red Army

The Soviet Red Army shelled the village of Mainila and then claimed that the fire originated from Finland, giving them a casus belli to launch the Winter War a few days later.

Everything on November 26Original source

In context

When
Sunday, November 26 193987 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1930s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: 1918-01-15 – 1946-02-25.

What happened

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often referred by its shortened name as the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars to oppose the military forces of the new nation's adversaries during the Russian Civil War, especially the various groups collectively known as the White Army. In February 1946, the Red Army was renamed the "Soviet Army".

November 26 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1939Red Army
  2. 20082008 Mumbai attacks
  3. 2008Queen Elizabeth 2
  4. 20112011 NATO attack in Pakistan
  5. 2011Mars Science Laboratory
  6. 2011Friendly fire
  7. 2011NASA
  8. 2018Uncrewed spacecraft
  9. 20192019 Albania earthquake
  10. 2021COVID-19 pandemic
  11. 2025Wang Fuk Court fire

Also in 1939

  • September 9World War IIWorld War II: About 3,000 Polish Army troops began a nearly month-long defence of the Hel Peninsula during the German invasion of Poland.
  • September 17World War IISecond World War: The Royal Navy lost its first warship in the war when German submarine U-29 torpedoed and sank HMS Courageous.
  • October 20Pope Pius XIIPope Pius XII (pictured) published his first encyclical, Summi Pontificatus, which critiqued ideologies such as racism, cultural superior…
  • October 14World War IISecond World War: The German submarine U-47 torpedoed and sank the Royal Navy battleship HMS Royal Oak while the latter was anchored at S…
  • December 22All-India Muslim LeagueMembers of the All-India Muslim League observed a "Day of Deliverance" to celebrate the resignations of members of the Indian National Co…
  • May 22Pact of SteelGermany and Italy signed the Pact of Steel, a military and political alliance.
  • January 7Marguerite PereyFrench physicist Marguerite Perey identified francium, the last element to be discovered in nature rather than by synthesis.
  • January 14Queen Maud LandNorway claimed Queen Maud Land, a 2.7-million km2 (1.0-million sq mi) region of Antarctica, as a dependent territory.

Everything we record for 1939 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Red Army”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/red-army-1939-november-26, accessed October 26, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Red Army happen?

November 26 1939 — 87 years ago, on a Sunday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.