Bits from around the world
The great war ground on, men still dying in their thousands but they were gripped to the front. With no great changes to report I’ve taken June and July together and looked at events from around the world.
The Mexican revolution was in full swing and on 03 June Obregon’s troops defeated those of Pancho Villa at Leon in the province of Guanajuato. The revolution continued sporadically until 1920 even though a new government was formed many observers claim that the state of revolution existed up to 1940.
On 05 June both Denmark and Iceland introduced full female suffrage. We might be shamed by delaying this until 1929. Incredible to know that this most rudimentary of democratic rights did not reach Switzerland until 1972.
In the United States Secretary of State William Jennings was forced to resign over his perceived mishandling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
The middle of the month saw the founding of the British Women’s institute. It is hard to tell from this distance whether more and more women taking up “mens” work because of the war was a factor in this. However, jam and Jerusalem was here to stay.
The fight for territory in Africa continued when with assistance from the Canadians, the UK and the Portugese the Union of South Africa occupied German South West Africa. This occupation lasted until 1990.
The mechanisation of war took another step forward. On the first of July German pilot Kurt Wintgens used a machine gun, synchronised to fire through the aircraft propellers, to shoot down a British plane.
In British Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Henry Pedris, a Sinhalese military captain, is accused of inciting race riots. He was duly executed after a summary trial. The charges were later proved to be false. The law of unintended consequences applied and Pedris became the hero of the Sri Lankan independence movement. Sad to think that the politicians talent for creating “martyrs” remains undiminished to this day.
On July 22nd the Tsar ordered the “Great Retreat” on the Eastern front. Russian troops pulled back from Poland (then part of Russia).
The American drive to spread their sphere of influence in the Americas resulted in the occupation of Haiti on 28 July. The occupation lasted until 1934.
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