March 31, 1919: Mrs Wilson makes the rounds, Artillery rounds aid the Allies in northern Russia, Wilde goes fifteen rounds

American Red Cross Student's Club on the day it was visited by Mrs Woodrow Wilson, March 31, 1919.

Edith Wilson, Woodrow Wilson's wife, was in Paris with him while he attended the Paris Peace Conference and, on this day, she visited the Red Cross Student's Club in Paris.

Edith was Wilson's second wife, his first having died in 1914.  She was a widow herself, her first husband having died in 1908.  She was younger than her second husband, being 47 years old at the time this photograph was taken, where as her husband was then 63.  He'd have a stroke, of course, later this year and at that time Edith Wilson became the effective chief executive of the United States, irrespective of there being no constitutional provision for that, and during turbulent times at that.  She did well in the role and can legitimately be regarded as the nation's first de facto female chief executive.  

Concerns over a repeat of the confusion caused by President Wilson's stroke would lead to changes in the law providing for a means of cabinet offers challenging the President's ability to serve.

Edith Wilson would live to be 89 years old and was present by invitation when the United States declared war against Japan in 1941.  She lived to attended John F. Kennedy's inauguration.

In Russia, a combined western Allied assault was successful at Bolshie Ozerki.

The Allied role against Communist forces in Russia, and elsewhere, is an extremely confusing story to say the least.  In the far Russian east the United States, while it had troops present, didn't take a role in fighting the Red Army. But in the far north, where the British were very much in command, they did.  This was a combined Allied action in which British troops (the largest contingent of Allied soldiers), French troops, Polish troops and White Russian troops all fought supported by White Russian artillery.

On this day the Allies, outnumbered three to one by Red forces, launched an artillery supported counter attack on Bolshie Ozerki and took the town, after an initial Red Army assault was launched upon it.  The point of the battle was the nearby railhead at Obozerskaya, which supplied the Allies during the winter as it terminated at the open port of Murmansk.  Not only the forces committed to the battle were grossly disproportionate, the casualties were too with the Allies taking seventy five casualties and the Reds taking upwards of 2,000.

This is one of many such instances in which Allied forces bested the Red Army.  The Reds would ultimately prevail against the Whites, of course, but they were clearly second or third rate compared to well trained European armies.

In fighting elsewhere King Edward VIII attended a box match between Welshman Jimmy Wilde and American Joe Lynch.

The King entered the ring to congratulate Wilde on his victory, thereby becoming the first royal to enter the ring, an act which gave the sport an added air of legitimacy.