A Divine Wind Preserved Japanese Culture for More than a Century

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In 1274, Kublai Kahn, emperor of the Mongolian dynasty after his conquest of China, set his sights on concuring Japan. In August of 1274 Kahn set sail for Japan with a combined Korean-Mongolian army of 40,000 men. Out of nowhere, a violent typhoon appeared and wrecked more than two hundred of the Mongolian and Korean fleet, which forced the surviving crew to abort the invasion and return home with many of their soldiers dead or swept away in the powerful storm. In a second invasion with a much larger force of 140,000 men, once again a violent typhoon welled up and destroyed practically all of the Mongolian invading fleet. Again, the Mongolians were forced to return home or be captured by the victorious Japanese. Kahn never again set out to invade Japan and the country was isolated from China for more than a century. The Japanese believed that they were “divinely protected” due to the two mysterious typhoons that defeated the invading Mongolian armada.

A Mysterious Fog Saved the Allies Cause

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164 years after Washington crossed the East River, another miraculous escape allowed more than 300,000 British forces to cross an even wider body of water and live to fight another day. Outnumbered by German forces two-to-one, British and French troops were pinned down on the French Coast at Dunkirk. On May 27, 1940 with German panzer forces less than 20 miles away and the Luftwaffe pounding the beaches, British Admiral Bertram Ramsey ordered Operation Dynamo forward. That night, suddenly, a heavy and dense fog rolled across and covered the entire channel. It was not the season for fog and no instance of it had been recorded before happening in May. Under the cover of this heavy fog, British ships crossed the French channel and the German subs and war ships did not detect them. As a result, more than 300,000 soldiers were rescued and brought safely back to England. 
 As soon as the last of the British ships returned home, the fog lifted. Churchill commented, "A guiding hand interfered to make sure the allied forces were not annihilated at Dunkirk."

Weather and Warfare Next Installment: The Rise of Ancient Japan

The First Crossing that Saved America

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It was not the crossing of the Delaware that first preserved the American cause but the crossing of the East River at Brooklyn Heights New York. In August 1776 with Washington’s men out numbered three-to-one and surrounded on all sides except one, a serendipitous downpour delayed British artillery attacks. In addition, unfavorable northeast winds prevented the British from moving their ships up New York Bay to encircle the American position. This mile wide channel was Washington's only possible path of retreat. The rain continued and on the night of August 29th the unusual northeast breeze intensified. The seagoing soldiers of John Glover's Marblehead Massachusetts Regiment were called on to ferry the American troops across the East River to Manhattan, and the exodus began at 9 PM.
When first light appeared, the evacuation of 9,000 American troops was far from complete; the oarsmen needed at least three more hours. Then rising out of the wet ground and off the East River, came a dense fog, which covered the entire river. As the sun rose, the miraculous fog did not lift! Washington’s entire army was extracted, except for the heaviest caliber canon. Just as the last boat pulled into the channel with General Washington aboard, the fog began to lift and dissipate. 9000 men had been saved from certain capture or destruction, and the American cause preserved.

Weather and Warfare Next Installment: Miracle at Dunkirk