Tuesday October 7, 1941. Stalin relents on religion.

Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow, the de facto head of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1941.

On this day in 1941, former Russian Orthodox seminarian, later revolutionary and mass murderer, Joseph Stalin lifted the prohibitions on religious worship in the Soviet Union in order to, the story is usually told, boost morale in his besieged nation.

Today in World War II History—October 7, 1941

It's also inescapably true that in spite of the brutality of the German invasion, large numbers of Russians and Ukrainians welcomed the Germans as they advanced.  Much of this was prior to their becoming aware of the virulent racial hatred of the Germans, but large numbers of Soviet citizens would aid the Germans, and even fight with them, right up until the end of the war.

Indeed, while I'm not putting it up, as I'm uncertain of its rights' status, a well-known photo of a smiling German tanker with smiling Ukrainian women and slices of bread was taken on this day in 1941.

Religious loyalty had remained strong in the Russian people in spite of Communism's brutal efforts to stamp it out.  To at least some degree, Stalin's actions may have been calculated to acknowledge that and to attempt to arrest defections to the Germans, or even forestall a potential coup.  As for Stalin himself, there's reason to doubt that he was actually an atheist, and he made at least one recorded statement that would strongly suggest that he was not.

On the Eastern Front, Army Group Center was dealing with snowfall that had come down the night prior, the first time it had to do so.  The 7th and 10th Panzer Divisions completed their encirclement of Vyazma.

John Curtin.

In Australia, John Curtin became Prime Minister.  The change in leadership which brought the Labor Party's Curtin to power was due to a parliamentary move, rather than an election.  Curtin would remain the Prime Minister for the remainder of his life, dying just before the end of the war in 1945.  He was 60 at the time.

Curtin had started off as a Socialist politician and was part of Australia's strong Socialist movement in the 20th Century.  The son of an Irish immigrant policeman who had a troubled career, Curtin had left school at age 13 and become in left wing politics and unions thereafter.  Indeed, while not really recalled outside Australia, the country had a very strong left wing movement that teetered on the edge of Communism throughout this period, although Curtin himself was a Labor Party figure in his later years, and at the time of his leading the country.   This perhaps makes him an odd figure in that he brought the country close to the United States during the war, pulling way from the United Kingdom, while also building a welfare state during the war.  Left wing parties were strongly anti-Catholic in Australia, a legacy which remains there and which has figured in recent news from the country, and even though Curtin was raised as a Catholic and educated in Catholic schools, he personally became anti-Catholic in his adult years to a rather pronounced degree.  While a Socialist, he also strongly reflected the Australia if his age, and was a strong backer of its "white's only" immigration policy.

He did survive an election that was called in 1943, and  therefore at that point he was Prime Minister in an elected fashion.  Lest it seem odd that he came to power in a parliamentary move, it was also the case that Winston Churchill did as well.  Cutin then overplayed his hand and sought a referendum to give his government control of the Australian economy for a five-year period following the end of the war, which failed.

Curtin's health, like Franklin Roosevelt's, was declining rapidly in the later stages of the war and like Roosevelt's his passing was not a surprise to those who knew him well.

Friday August 29, 1941. Shifting sands

On this day in 1941, Charles Lindbergh at a rally of the American First Committee in Oklahoma City warned the audience that the United Kingdom might turn against the US "as she had turned against France and Finland". 

Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana.

Lindbergh was backed up by Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler who counseled that "If our interventionist want to free a country from the domination of another country, we ought to declare war on Great Britain and free India.  I have never seen such slavery as I saw in India a few years ago".

Wheeler was an outspoken left wing Democrat who had at one time crossed over to the Progressive Party and then back.  He opposed entry to the war right up until December 7, 1941 and was instrumental in the leaking of US plans to aid the British prior to the war, which went to press on December 4, 1941.  His isolationist stances caused him to suffer defeat in the first Montana election in which he was up after December 7, and he never returned to politics. A lawyer by training, he returned to practicing law and defended Max Lowenthal in front of the House Committee On Un American Affairs in the 1950s.  He's an example of how opposition to entry into the war was not, as sometimes imagined, politically uniform.

The rally itself was not well received by the public, and polls started increasingly swinging towards the Administration's interventionist policies.

Speaking of Finland, the Finns retook Viipuri.  Not forever of course, its Vyborg, Russia.

Flag for the city of Vybork, in the Leningrad Oblast.

The city did have a Finnish population at the time, but its entire population was evacuated in 1944 with the collapse of the Eastern Front.  It is, therefore, an example today of the massive population disruption brought on by the Second World War.

Finnish victory parade, August 31, 1941.

In Serbia, the puppet collaborationist Government of National Salvation commenced control of the country.

Vichy authorities arrested American journalist Varian Fry.  Fry was running an underground railroad effort helping Jews escape from France and to the United States, using Spain and Portugal as conduits.  He'd be expelled from the country.

Arthur McFadden became Australian Prime Minister in a coalition government.  He was a member of the minority Country Party.  The National Country Party, the "Nats" is a center right party that's strongest in rural areas and which has a focus on agrarian issues.

Wednesday August 13, 1941. Dominion Women At War.

The Canadian Army Women's Corps was created by the Canadian government on this day in 1941.  It was an auxiliary of the Army, not officially part of it, until 1942.

On the same day, coincidentally, the Australian Women's Army Service was also started.

The creation of both organizations reflected the growing manpower shortage in both countries as wartime service stretched their capacities to fully staff and man their military structures.  At the time, neither country had resorted to conscription to fill their armed forces.  Indeed, in both countries the restrictions on the service of conscripts would always be considerably more extensive than they were in the United States during the war.

Both organizations utilized women in administrative and support roles.  The recruitment of women for military service for the second time in twenty years clearly pointed towards a more permanent role for them in the military in the future.

In the US, the Administration suspended the eight-hour work day for mechanics and laborers employed by the War Department in order to speed the construction of military installations.  And Ford Motors introduced a plastic body demonstrator automobile.

On the same day, the German occupation authorities in the Baltic ordered the codification of all property belonging to Jews.

Thursday August 7, 1941. Bombers and Japanese intentions.

The Soviet Navy bombed Berlin.

Yes, the Navy.

The reason was that the Ilyushin DB-3 used by both the Soviet Air Forces and the Soviet Navy was capable of being both a torpedo bomber and a tactical bomber, although its small 1000 lbs bomb load made it a poor strategic bomber.  The Soviet Air Forces also the aircraft, but the aircraft used in this raid were launched from a Soviet Navy base off of Estonia.

DB-3 in captured Finnish use.

The Germans at first thought that the RAF had conducted the raid, given as the RAF, which was the only combatant then in the war with heavy strategic bombers, had been raiding Berlin for a year. The small payload of the DB-3 meant that the raid was unlikely to be anything other than a propaganda victory, which was all that it was.

In other news of the air, Bruno Mussolini, the son of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, was killed test flying an Italian attempt at a heavy bomber, that being the Piaggio P.108.

P.108 in flight.

Australia declared that it would not allow Japanese expansion in the Pacific to go unchecked, should it occur.

On the same day, Imperial Japan, which had recently mediated a dispute between Thailand and the French in Indochina, declared that it had no aggressive intentions in regard to Thailand.

In the US, people went about their regular chores, including outdoor ones.

June 25, 1941. The Continuation War, Murder and Executive Order 8802

Finland declared war on the Soviet Union with the goal of reclaiming territories lost in the Winter War.  It's goals were limited in the war to the recovery of territory lost to the Soviets, which it advanced into, took strategic positions, and then stopped.  This date is noted here:

Today in World War II History—June 25, 1941

The action put the Finns in bed with the Germans, and it wasn't a spur of the moment decision.  The Finns knew that Barbarossa was coming, and had agreed to the prestaging of German troops on its soil.  It was a calculated move betting on a German victory in the war, or at least on Germany obtaining a sufficiently advantageous result such that Finland would regain the territories it had lost.

Dealing with the Continuation War has always been a bit of a problem for Western historians as it does cut slightly against the grain in regard to the story of World War Two. Finland, with one slight exception, is the big exception to the rule regarding the Axis. Finland protected its Jewish population, with the exception of 8 individuals, and refused to hand them over to the Germans.  It halted its advance and went on the defensive as soon as it regained the territory it had lost, which in context was probably a strategic failure as it could have gained ethnic Finnish ground in the far north which would have also choked off Murmansk to Allies, which would be a port of resupply to the Soviets during the war.

Finland gambled incorrectly, of course, and would pay the price, albeit not as much of a price as a person might have suspected it would receive from the Soviets.

Symbol of the German Army's 163d Infantry Division.

On the same day Sweden agreed to allow the Germans to transport the German 163rd Infantry Division across its territory from Norway into Finland. The request had been made several days prior and had provoked a crisis in the Swedish government in which the King intervened with the request that it be allowed. The motivations for allowing it are complicated but tied to aiding its neighbor.  It's an example of how the neutrals of the Second World War not only were neutral, but frankly made significant concessions to nearby belligerents none the less.

The 163d spent most of the war with the Finns, being transported back to Germany late in the war.  It was destroyed by the Red Army in Pomerania in March, 1945.

Anti Jewish pogroms broke out in Lithuania. Centered in Kovno, the murders were conducted by Lithuanian civilians, not the Germans, at first, as the Germans had not yet reached the city. Upon their reaching it the killing would continue under their direction.

In Serbia, the Utashi opened the Slana camp, an island concentration camp, and began transporting Jews, and later Serbian and Croatian communists, to the island to be murdered.  The killing would stop when the Italians would occupy the island.

President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 8802, which read:

EXECUTIVE ORDER 8802

Reaffirming Policy of Full Participation in the Defense Program by All Persons, Regardless of Race, Creed, Color, or National Origin, and Directing Certain Action in Furtherance of Said Policy

WHEREAS it is the policy of the United States to encourage full participation in the national defense program by all citizens of the United States, regardless of race, creed, color, or national origin, in the firm belief that the democratic way of life within the Nation can be defended successfully only with the help and support of all groups within its borders; and

WHEREAS there is evidence that available and needed workers have been barred from employment in industries engaged in defense production solely because of considerations of race, creed, color, or national origin, to the detriment of workers' morale and of national unity:

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as a prerequisite to the successful conduct of our national defense production effort, I do hereby reaffirm the policy of the United States that there shall be no discrimination in the employment of workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national origin, and I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor organizations, in furtherance of said policy and of this order, to provide for the full and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin;

And it is hereby ordered as follows:

1. All departments and agencies of the Government of the United States concerned with vocational and training programs for defense production shall take special measures appropriate to assure that such programs are administered without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin;

2. All contracting agencies of the Government of the United States shall include in all defense contracts hereafter negotiated by them a provision obligating the contractor not to discriminate against any worker because of race, creed, color, or national origin;

3. There is established in the Office of Production Management a Committee on Fair Employment Practice, which shall consist of a chairman and four other members to be appointed by the President. The Chairman and members of the Committee shall serve as such without compensation but shall be entitled to actual and necessary transportation, subsistence and other expenses incidental to performance of their duties. The Committee shall receive and investigate complaints of discrimination in violation of the provisions of this order and shall take appropriate steps to redress grievances which it finds to be valid. The Committee shall also recommend to the several departments and agencies of the Government of the United States and to the President all measures which may be deemed by it necessary or proper to effectuate the provisions of this order.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt
June 25, 1941

Australia formed its Naval Auxiliary Patrol.

The Aerodrome: March 31, 1921. The Royal Australian Air Force founded.

The Aerodrome: March 31, 1921. The Royal Australian Air Force fo...: 

March 31, 1921. The Royal Australian Air Force founded.

Australian military aviation goes back to the Great War, but it was largely disbanded with the peace. After the war, it was recreated as part of the Australian Army, and then on this day, it was made a separate service as the Australian Air Force. King George V would approve the "Royal" title later that year.

Royal Australian Air Force standard.

 

March 28, 1921. Empires coming and going.

Street in Seattle on March 28, 1921.

Things went from bad to worse for Charles I, the last Austro Hungarian Emperor, when newly created Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia warned Hungary that if the regained the Hungarian throne, they'd declare war on Hungary.

All of those countries, combined with Austria, had been part of the Austro Hungarian Empire and they feared that Charles I's restoration as King of Hungary would be followed by a claim to restore the Austro Hungarian Empire.

Winston and Clementine Churchill were the subjects of a reception at the Government House in Jerusalem.

Also present was Abdullah I and his entourage.  Abdullah's army had occupied Jordan without opposition.  He was a British client, but the situation was tense as his actions were not yet recognized as legitimate.

The U.S. launched the USS Corry, a Clemson class destroyer that would serve only nine years.  The ship had been ordered in World War One, like all of the ships then being commissioned, but finished to late to serve in the war.

The Corry was one of 60 ships decommissioned as too expensive to maintain at the beginning of the Great Depression.

The Australian Department of Civil Aviation was formed as the Civil Aviation Branch of the Australian Defense Department.

An Easter Egg roll was held on the White House grounds.  Easter was the day prior in 1921.

Poster Saturday: Join the AIF Now!

Poster for the Second Australian Imperial Force from World War Two. The AIF was made up of Australians who volunteered for service outside of Australia.

During both World War One and World War Two Australian servicemen, for the most part, could not be compelled to serve outside of Australia, although there was a small exception for some regional service in the Pacific that did come about during World War Two.  This mirrored the situation with Canadian servicemen whom, up until late World War Two, could also not be compelled to serve outside of Canada.

That means, for the most part, Australians who served in combat in World War Two were volunteers.

February 21, 1921. France and Poland entreat against Germany, and to the benefit of the USSR, but tell no-one, Coup in Persia, Long walk in Australia

Benjamin Harney, noted sculptor, making a working model of cigar smoking President-elect Harding during a round of golf on course at St. Augustine, Fla., 2/21/21.

President Elect Harding, who hadn't wanted to be President in the first place, and looking calm for a man who had just paid off one mistress but was, um, busy with another, chose to go golfing on this day in 1921. Still, the period equivalent of the paparazzi wouldn't leave him alone.

Ahad Shad Qajar, who only had two more years to reign, and only titular reign at that.

Harding was about to assume office in March, but in Iran General Reza Shah Pahlavi and journalist (yes journalist) Zia'eddin Tabatabaee deposed Fatollah Khan Akbar with the goal of preserving the Qajar Dynasty.  Ahmad Shah would remain the nominal king of the country for two years before being sent packing in 1923.  Reza Khan, by 1925, would decide that he'd be a nifty king and he founded the Pahlavi Dynasty that ruled until deposed in 1979, with results that continue to echo through to us today, and not in a good way.

Reza Khan.

Reza Khan was a commander of the Persian Cossack Brigade, which gets into their confusing nature, as they were not real Cossacks, ethnically, but were modeled on that group.  His mother was a Muslim Georgian and his father a Mazanderani, which meant that he was not of Persian ethnicity.

Poland and France added a secret addition to their recent treaty that provided that starting in 1923 a military alliance would exist which would require each nation to assist the other in the even of a German attack and which provided, contrary to Soviet suspicions, that that Poland would not attack the USSR.

Aidan de Brune became the first person to walk across Australia by himself, arriving in Sydney after having left 90 days prior from Freemantle, which is pretty good time really.

The first ski jumping competition in the United States occurred at Lake Placid.

Cliffnotes of the Zeitgeist Part 5. Scrabble

Scrabble

Brittney Spears, now a long way from being a child being exploited for her appearance, and still subject to a guardianship run by her father, reports that sometimes its fun to make words up when playing Scrabble.

Spears has been the subject of a documentary about her plight recently, although she apparently isn't participating in it herself.  She's also the subject of a popular "Free Brittney" movement.

Spears is a study in pathos, having been really basically exploited for her appearance as a near child and then living in the wake of her prior fame.

Texan Exceptualism

Texas has its own power grid.

That's right. It's own grid.

Most of the Western United States is in one grid, and the Eastern half in another, but Texas has its own.  It goes by the name ERCOT.

This dates back to the 1930s when Texas power companies sought to evade interstate regulation.  Texas was big enough that power companies in Texas could simply operate a grid within it, although in fairness some of Texas is served by neighboring systems.  In 1970 this system became formalized.

The system has been getting a lot of attention recently due to power failures in Texas.  Last year Texas Senator Ted Cruz criticized California's policy on renewable energy but now Texas is having a major problem of its own.  People were quick to focus on the reliance in Texas on renewables, but it turns out that while there were truly failures, failures in the traditional energy sector were at a higher rate.  Wind turbines did ice up and fail to work, but then there were also failures associated with coal and nuclear power sources.

This raises a lot of questions, probably all of which will suggest areas where blame should be focused and not all of which will be correct.  One question which may come up is the desirability of having its own system in 2021.  The system also had problems in 2011, at which time it imported some power sources from Mexico, so there have been problems before.

Of course, this was an extraordinary storm, and that may mean that anything that occurred is really a bad example.  Texas is prepared for heat waves, but not freeze outs.

As posted here the other day, while the U.S. has gone to very large grids, the new energy systems might argue for small localized ones, or at least the incorporation of smaller ones into larger systems.

Laramie County Censures Cheney

And it, like the rest of the Wyoming GOP, better hope that it doesn't look foolish in the eyes of history.

Congress appears set to do a 9/11 style commission on the insurrection.  It's clear that it'll show at least as much as has already been shown, which means that the GOP will of course be free to pretend it doesn't mean anything and that it isn't happening.

By the time this is put up it will be probable that the GOP has lost 200,000 members in those state, far from all, where that can be tracked. Assuming the trend exists elsewhere, it's likely more than 300,000.  For those states where the tally has been close, this is really bad for the GOP in more ways than one.  Mitch McConnell has his eyes focused on 2022, but Trump has his focused on punishing those who opposed him. One of the sets of people punished this go around were Republicans in Georgia, resulting in the loss of their Senate seats.

If the riff in the GOP isn't healed, it may indeed turn out to be "Trump's Party" in 2022 and 2024. But that party will be smaller and therefore that development would be a gift to the Democrats. By leaning increasingly into Trump as the permanent figurehead, rather than emphasizing their issues, the Trump wing of the party is risking dragging it into irrelevance.

On censures, what does that really mean anyway?  So far Cheney has given the "M'eh" reaction and Ben Sasse treated the threat of one from Nebraska's GOP as if they were a bunch of toddlers having a tantrum.  And after all, it really doesn't do anything to the censured person.

Australia blacksout itself.

The Australian parliament passed a bill to make Google and Facebook pay for Australian journalism on its site, resulting in Facebook just blocking the stories, a move which caused some Australian government communications to cease.

Australia called Facebook's move arrogant, but the question may be levied where the arrogance was, or at least the hubris.

January 5, 1941. The death of Amy Johnson.

 

Amy Johnson.

Pioneering aviatrix Amy Johnson died on this day in the service of the British Transport Auxiliary, the British air ferrying service that was created in order to allow civilian pilots, including women, preform this service during war time.

She was flying an Airspeed Oxford in poor weather when it went off course and is generally believed to have run out of fuel.  She bailed out over the Thames Estuary and was sighted descending by vessels of the Royal Navy, which went to help.  She was sighted in the water in heavy seas and the commander of one of the vessels, Lt. Cmdr Walter Fletcher went over the side to rescue her but was unable to, soon becoming unconscious himself.  He died a few days later.  Her body was not recovered.  

Her loss remains controversial in the UK.  In 1999 a crewman of a wartime anti aircraft batter claimed his gun had shot her down when she had failed to reply to an identification signal and that the crew had believed they had shot down an enemy aircraft until they read of her death the following day, at which time an officer ordered them not to speak of the event.  That's possible, but in my view unlikely as the claim of a hit would have been made at the time and likely records of it might still remain.

And a crewman of the ship that was nearest to her claimed many years later that she was sucked into the ship's screw which killed her, although the crewman did not witness it.  Given the way that ships generally work and the depth of the screws, that's also quite unlikely.

In any event, two heroes, Johnson and Fletcher, who lost their lives that day.

More on events of this day including the Commonwealth victory in Bardia.

Today in World War II History—January 5, 1941

Day 493 January 5, 1941

November 16, 1920. Timely advice, then and now. Airlines, then and now. Beersheba.

Cartoon of this date with some timely advice.  From Reddit's 100 Years Ago Subreddit

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The Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service, Qantas, was formed on this day in 1920.  The third oldest airway in the world, its now the Australian national airline.

Qantas' first office.

Herbert Samuel, the British governor of Palestine, toured Beersheba.

October 30, 1920. Drum Major, Imitating Mother, the Australian Communist Party, and Parking

 

On this day in 1920 the Saturday Evening Post's cover was graced by a J. C. Leyendecker illustration of a band major.

Usually scenes like this were topical, but this one was clearly not.  In October the only kids who would be wearing the old fashioned (dare we say it) "wife beater" type of t-shirt would have had to live in the deep South, as the cool weather would have set in everywhere else. And at this time of year, bands weren't marching.

Judge had a classic scene, now probably regarded as un-woke, of a little girl mimicking her elders conduct, something that still occurs, acknowledged by society or not.

Also on this day, the Australian Communist Party formed.

It's little remembered today, but the Australian Communist Party, which dissolved in 1991, was a powerful party in its day.  Some credit the Irish Australians and the Catholic Church, of which they were members of stemming it tide, although certainly that was only partially true, and while the party dissolved in 1991, lingering left wing resentment is credited by some with the charade of a trial delivered to Cardinal Pell which was later overturned, something that will stand with the Dred Scott decision in the United States as a shameful national blight on a nation's legal system.  The party went into a steep decline after the full horrors of Soviet Communism started to be revealed after World War Two, although strongly left wing sentiments in some Australian political parties remain.

Blog Mirror: Finnsheep

Finnsheep

May 8, 1945. Victory In Europe. Seventy Five Years Ago Today.

The mission of this Allied force was fulfilled at 0241, local time, May 7th, 1945.

Dwight Eisenhower.

The official surrender, however, came today.

Today In Wyoming's History: May 8:

May 8

1945    The German surrender becomes official.  President Harry S. Truman announced in a radio address that World War II had ended in Europe.  End of the Prague uprising.  Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre, ushering in what would ultimately become the French Algerian War.  In day two of rioting, 10,000 servicemen in Halifax Nova Scotia loot and vandalize downtown Halifax during VE-Day celebrations.

Every Man Should Have A Rifle

So I sit and write and ponder, while the house is deaf and dumb,
Seeing visions "over yonder" of the war I know must come. In the corner — not a vision — but a sign for coming days Stand a box of ammunition and a rifle in green baize. And in this, the living present, let the word go through the land, Every tradesman, clerk and peasant should have these two things at hand.

No — no ranting song is needed, and no meeting, flag or fuss — In the future, still unheeded, shall the spirit come to us! Without feathers, drum or riot on the day that is to be, We shall march down, very quiet, to our stations by the sea. While the bitter parties stifle every voice that warns of war, Every man should own a rifle and have cartridges in store!

Henry Lawson, 1907.

Lawson was an Australian poet.

"October 21, 1919" The Great Air Race Commences. At 11.44 a.m. the first of the six aircraft took off from Hounslow, England.

They were bound for Australia, which made sense as the race was sponsored by the Australian Prime Minister and one of the rules of the race was that all the crewmen had to be Australian.

We have already read about the US 1919 Air Derby, which was still ongoing on  this date as following aircraft continued to land. . . and crash (quite frequently with fatal results), and we posted on the 1919 Round the Rim flight, which was still going on, showing the level of air mania in the United States.  But air mania wasn't limited to the United States.  On this day six British Empire aircraft took off in a race of even more epic proportions.

The six aircraft were not all of one type, making this a technological test in addition to being an air race (the aircraft in the Air Derby weren't all of one type either).  These planes were sometimes a heavier, being bombers in part.  They included a Sopwith Wallaby, a Vickers Vimy, an Alliance P.2. A Blackburn Kangaroo, a Martinsyde Type A and an Airco DH.9. Both single engine and twin engine aircraft were in the race.

April 25, 1919. Anzac Day, J'Accuse, Canadians return.

On this day in 1919, the French film J'Accuse was released.  

J'Accuse can legitimately be regarded as one of the very first anti war movies ever made.  The message of the film was made all the more potent by the fact that the director had used actual French soldiers for its filming while the war was still on.  Reportedly 80% of the soldier extras in the film were killed in action before the war was over.

The movie famously features the ghosts of the dead in accusation, but it also features a somewhat complicated betrayal by a love interest plot fairly typical of early films.

Also on this day, Australian soldiers marched for ANZAC Day parades in several cities, but those in Sidney were cancelled due to the Spanish Flu.  Contrary to widespread popular claim, this was not the first ANZAC Day. The official date had been established in 1916.  This was the first post war ANZAC Day.

While Empire troops were marching in Australia, they were arriving in New York on their way home to Canada as well.

Canadian officers Sir Henry Worth Thornton (president of the Canadian National Railway in civilian life) and Air Commodore Alfred Cecil Critchley arriving in New York City on the Aquitania.  Both general officers are wearing classic examples of British officer dress.

The troop ship Aquitania arrived with Canadian soldiers on their way home, greeted by at least one British dignitary.

Gen. Thornton with Sir James Benjamin Bell, Timber Comptroller for the British government.

Ranger Texas, April 25, 1919.

Ranger Texas was photographed.

Ranger was where famous western historian Walter Prescott Webb went to school, being from a nearby farm.

The Easter Riots Commence in Quebec City, March 28, 1918.

Several days of rioting, which would run through April 1, commenced on this day in Quebec City in 1918.

 

An example of a Canadian recruiting poster directed at the residents of Montreal (with which my family has a connection). Such efforts were not entirely successful.  This unit sought to recruit members of the fairly large Irish Canadian community of Quebec.

The underlying cause of the riots was conscription, which was deeply unpopular in Canada in general and hugely unpopular in Quebec, which saw the war as a European affair that they had very little stake or interest in.  404,385 Canadian men became liable for military service under the Military Service Act, which became law on January 1. 385,510 sought exemption and, given the vague nature of the statute, most succeeded.

The immediate cause of the rioting was the arrest of a French Canadian man who failed to present his exemption papers.  He was released, but things soon were totally out of control.  Soldiers had to be called into the city under the War Measures Act of 1914.  The deeply unpopular act and the riots lead to the proposed Francœur Motion under which Quebec was proposed to declare that it would be happy to leave the Canadian union if the rest of the then very English country found Quebec to be "an obstacle to the union, progress and development of Canada".  The motion was not introduced in the end out of a fear of what it would lead to.

In some ways the rioting strongly recalls the reaction that the Irish had to conscription which lead to the Easter Rebellion of 1916. England itself had no tradition of conscription for land service (it did for sea service) and conscription was actually more strongly established in the United States which had required militia service by state in all states up until after the Civil War, with there being outright conscription during the Civil War.  The English accepted it however.  None of the Dominions took well to it and Ireland, part of the United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, was massively opposed to it.  Originally the Irish were exempted from English conscription but when that was repealed in 1916 it lead to the Easter Rebellion and ultimately to the Anglo Irish War and Irish independence.  Australia rejected attempts to impose conscription in that Dominion in a national plebiscite, while New Zealand on the other hand adopted it.  Canada too adopted it after a prior failed attempt, but as can be seen, it was not a success and it fueled early thoughts of Quebec separation.

The irony of this is that while this was occurring, Ireland, Australia and Canada all contributed large bodies of men to the war voluntarily.  So,in the end, efforts to impose conscription in those localities were at best a waste of time and effort and at worst a cause of net manpower loss.

It's worth noting that conscription remained unpopular in Australia and Canada during World War Two and while both nations imposed it, only late in the war were conscripts required to serve overseas.  In Australia's case disgruntled conscripts were a source of poor units that otherwise stand apart from the really notable fighting qualities of the Australian Army.  Canadian conscripts seem to have accepted their late war fate and generally have worked out well when they were finally required to go overseas.  Ireland was of course independent , although a dominion, by World War Two, and it refused to declare war but once again supplied a large number of troops to the British forces.  Surprisingly Australia twice imposed conscription post World War Two, once during the Korean War and again during the Vietnam War.  Canada briefly followed the British example of Cold War conscription but phased it out very quickly and has never resumed it.

The Lighthorsemen

Recently I noted the centennial of the Battle of Beersheba.  Shortly after that, I started re-reading the history of that battle in Anglesey's multi volume A History Of The British Cavalry and was struck by how accurate this film was.  It's then when I noted that I'd never reviewed it.

It's great.

This 1987 Australian move presents the story of a collection of actual Australian (and one English) figures in the context of the War In The Desert and, more particularly, the events leading up to the 4th and 12th Lighthorse's mounted charge at Beersheba.  While a film, and therefore a drama by its very nature, the film is remarkably accurate in all of its significant details making it a true rarity in films of this type.

The film culminates, of course, in the charge itself. That could hardly fail to be highly dramatic and the movie at least matches our expectations in these regards, if not grossly exceeding them. 

That addresses, of course, the historical details, but we'd note that in material details this movie is equally as good.  Uniforms, equipment, etc., are all correct.

Indeed this movie is so good that it may legitimately contend for the being the best movie set in World War One.  It's far better than most, and perhaps only Lawrence of Arabia, which of course is set in World War One but which is oddly not considered by many to be a film about the Great War, is better.