On April 30th 2015, Dennis Cross published the latest instalment to his Centennial Countdown blog. Here’s his email summary of the posting:
“In April 1915 poison gas is used for the first time on the Western Front as the German Army makes another attempt to eliminate the Ypres salient in Belgium. In the Ottoman Empire, Armenian Christians are accused of undermining the war against Russia; executions and forced deportations ensue. The campaign to force the Dardanelles becomes a ground war as Allied forces are landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula; poet Rupert Brooke dies before he gets there. Italy decides to join the war on the side of the Allies. German cruisers seek refuge in an American port. The civil war in Mexico intensifies as Constitutionalist forces rout Pancho Villa. In the United States, Leo Frank loses his last appeal. Former President Roosevelt goes on trial for libel and blasts pacifists, comparing them to Civil War Copperheads. President Wilson advocates “America First” in a speech to the Associated Press. Jess Willard ends Jack Johnson’s reign as heavyweight champion, and Charlie Chaplin invents a new character in “The Tramp.”
The blog can be read here
Posted by CN Deputy Editor