Showing posts with label Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Show all posts

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Thursday, March 9, 1916. Germany declares war on Portugal,


Germany declared war on Portugal.

The Germans attacked the commune of Cumières-le-Mort-Homme from Béthincourt, France.

The Italians launched an offensive around Gorizia and Tolmin.

The Western Frontier Force left Sidi Barrani and marched to capture Sollum, Egypt from the Ottoman Empire and their Senussi allies.

Arnold Spencer-Smith of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition died while en route to Hut Point for medical treatment for exhaustion and scurvy.

And peace was about to end for the United States:


 

Thursday, March  9, 1916. The Raid On Columbus New Mexico. 


And with this entry, the day to day tracking of events from January 1, 1914, up to the this date in 1926, is complete. There won't be any daily updates for 1916 hereafter, as we've already done that.

Anyone tracking this in the future will note that our styles changed over time.  Indeed, considerably.  For one thing, on later posts you can always look back and see the post right before it in a link.  When we started these daily entries in 2016, that wasn't the case.  In some instances, however, that feature has been later added.

Additionally, as with the entries from March 9, 2016, we often did more than one, if there was more than one thing to feature for the day.  At some point we stopped doing that.

You'll still find, for the time being, daily updates, when there's something worth noting, for 1876.  We're unlikely to carry that past the summer, however, as the 1870sn are really outside the focus of the blog.  I've thought about stopping it earlier, and may do that.

You will likely still see events carrying forward from 1901, which started with 1900.  This is backfill, frankly, for the 1910 to 1920 period that is the focus of the blog. The same is true for the 1911 entries, which are backfilling up to 1914.  As 1911 is already within the Mexican Revolution period, that will carry on, even though the first decade of the 20th Century may very well not.

We don't post many entries from the 1920s now that we're up to 1926, although we do occasionally. This is really outside the focus period of the blog and by 1926 the country was on to a new era.  The same is true for the 1940s, now that we're past the Second World War, although we still post a few.  The fifty years ago entries, now into 1976, are few and far between as well as there just aren't that many things I find interesting from that period, historically, which of course I have a personal memory of.

Anyhow, I hope the readers enjoyed reading the daily entries from March 9, 1916 up to March 9, 1926, and enjoyed the backfill that brought in the rest of World War One and the daily happenings as it was going on.  The immediate prewar era, 1910 to the end of 1913, will still be getting backfilled, which we hope you also enjoy.

Last edition:

Wednesday, March 8, 1916. Villa crosses the border.

Pancho Villa and about 400 of his men crossed the Mexican border near Columbus New Mexico.

The town had a U.S. Army garrison of 600.  

The town was also the home of Sam Ravel, a man to whom Villa had given money to buy arms but who had not delivered, although that is unlikely to have been the reason for the attack, as we discussed here:

The Columbus Raid. Why did it occur?

Ottoman forces stopped a much larger British force attempting to relieve Kut.

The sledging party of the second arm of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was reduced to three walking members during their return trek from Mount Hope in the Antarctic.

Last edition:

Tuesday, March 7, 1916. Villa close to the border.

Friday, February 12, 2016

Saturday, February 12, 1916. Russians advance against the Ottomans.

Russian forces captured Fort Kara-gobek at Erzurum.

British forces failed to take Salaita Hill in what is now Kenya in the first large scale battle of the East Africa Campaign.

The Aurora was free of ice, but only temporarily.




Apparently a Casper Knights of Columbus event was a big success, but what was surprising is that it was held at the Masonic hall.


Last edition:

Labels: 

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Wednesday, February 2, 1916. Questionable, or outright bad, decision making.

Ernest Shackleton sent a party to bring back the third lifeboat from the sunken polar ship Endurance in anticipation of crossing open water during the Antarctic summer thaw. 

By this point, their teams of dogs were also reduced to two teams, with the others being shot to ensure more seal meat for expedition members. The teams had been living off of previously harvested seal.

I have to say, I really wonder about the value of these expeditions, compared to the suffering they endured.

The German zeppelin that disappeared on the air raid to Liverpool four days earlier was spotted by the British naval trawler King Stephen floating in the North Sea. 

After briefly speaking with Zeppelin Captain Odo Löwe and the crew, the trawler left the German air crew to their fate.

Odo Löwe, monument to bad decision making.

Geez Louise

Last edition:

Saturday, January 29, 1916.

Labels: 

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Wednesday, January 26, 1916. Mount Hope.

The sledging party of the second arm of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition reached Mount Hope near the Beardmore Glacier to lay down a depot for the first arm of the expedition that was expected to reach the location in the coming weeks, not knowing what had otherwise occurred.

Stockmen were concerned about the border.


Last edition:

Tuesday, January 25, 1916. Montenegro surrenders.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Wednesday, December 29, 1915. New Antarctic Camp.

Ernest Shackleton called off the march to Paulet Island and ordered the party to set up a new camp on the open ice due to deteriorating ice conditions.

TR was agitating:


Asbestos clothes?

Yup.  Asbestos clothing dates as far back as Roman times.

Interesting that on the same front page the press was lauding the Germans for "cleaning up" Polish schools.

Last edition:

Tuesday, December 28, 1915. Environmentalists.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Tuesday, December 28, 1915. Environmentalists.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science in Columbus, Ohio voted to form the Ecological Society of America for professionals dedicated to the study and advocacy of ecology.

Allied forces began their withdrawal from Cape Helles.

Earlier I'd reported that the Allies had completed their withdrawal from Gallipoli, but in fact, that was only the ANZACs from Suvla Bay.

Luz Corral, the wife of Pancho Villa and the wife of Hipolito Villa arrived in Havana, Cuba on board the steamer named "Atenas" from New Orleans, planning on going on to Argentina to form a new life.

Villa had irregular marital unions and its difficult to determine who is who in the collection of women associated with him.  The marriage between Corral and Villa had occurred in 1911, and was performed by a Catholic Priest.  It's the only one recognized by the Mexican state.

The blue eyed Corral lived until 1981, dying at age 89.


Expedition leader Aeneas Mackintosh completed the first of the major supply depots on the Ross Ice Shelf for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

Mayor James Rolph of San Francisco officially moved the Mayor's Office into the reopened city hall that had been rebuilt following the 1906 earthquake.

Last edition:

Monday, December 27, 1915. Siding With Carranza.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Monday, December 27, 1915. Siding With Carranza.

Wilson was allowing Mexican troops transport again:


Violations of women were going to be investigated by the US.


It's worth noting that its a universal norm that women and children suffer the most in war, indeed, in any war, as our twenty-fourth law of human behavior holds.

Storms were also in the news.

In the US, the moral conduct of American women was questioned.


Women in Carranza's forces got a story, while the Colorado National Guard was looking for troops.


A "bachelor girl" had a column.


Endurance's carpenter Harry McNash refused to work on the basis that the ship's articles were no longer in effect as the ship had sunk.  While Shackleton was able to restore order, McNash would later not be awarded the Polar Medal based on his insubordination.

As an aside, McNash's cat Mrs. Chippy had to be destroyed after the ship was lost.  He went on to finish 23 years in the Navy but was under constant pain, and eventually ended up destitute.

Mrs. Chippy.

Last edition:

Sunday, December 26, 1915. Boxing Day.

Monday, December 21, 2015

Tuesday, December 21, 1915. Fighting at Hartmannswillerkopf.

The French resumed attacks at Hartmannswillerkopf.

The British hospital ship SS Huntly, which had been the German hospital ship Ophelia, was sunk in the English Channel by the UB-10.

Shackleton ordered a march to the Paulet Island for the second time.

The Rocky Mountain News reported that things were not going well for Pancho Villa.


Last edition:

Monday, December 20, 1915. Mystery submarine.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Sunday, November 20, 1915. Villa in retreat. . . again.

Putting up a post that was made, and then lost;

Villa was in retreat again:


From this point on, Villa would, in fact, always be in retreat.

Supreme Leader of the Senussi in North Africa Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi ordered his forces to cross the Egyptian frontier to execute a military coastal campaign against the Allies. 

An outpost southeast of Sollum, Egypt was attacked

The Endurance broke up and sank. The Aurora drifted across the Antartic Circle as ice trapping her began to melt.

Last edition:

Friday, November 19, 1915. Joe Hill executed.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Monday, November 1, 1915. Villa attacks, and is defeated, at Agua Prieta.

Villa's Division del Norte engaged Constitutionalist under Plutarco Elías Calles at Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico and held the city in spite of having a command less than half the size of Villa's 15,000 Conventionist.

Villa in March, 1915.

Villa, who had to cross the Sonoran Desert to attack the city, was not aware that the U.S. had recognized Carranza as the de facto head of Mexico.  Nor did he realize that President Wilson had allowed Carranza's troops to cross through American territory by train in order to strengthen the garrison, a move that amounted to a direct American intervention in the war.  3,500 fresh, veteran troops traveled through Arizona and New Mexico and arrived in the town in early October, bringing the total number of defenders to 6,500.  Villa believed the city was defended by a mere 1,200 men.

Villa's attack featured a daytime artillery bombardment and a nighttime cavalry charge, the latter rendered ineffective by searchlights.

Suffice it to say, Villa did not take the surprises well.  Wilson's action in allowing the Constitutionalist to cross the US to reinforce Agua Prieta would lead directly to the raid on Columbus, New Mexico, the following year.

Ernest Shackleton called off a march to Paulet Island due to deteriorating ice conditions. The men returned to a sinking Endurance.

Last edition:

Sunday, October 31, 1915. Villa advances on the border.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Saturday, October 30, 1915. On foot.

The crew of the Endurance set off for Paulet Island, 346 miles away, where a food debot from a prior expedition was located.

The French submarine Turquoise was captured by the Ottoman Empire.


Last edition:

Thursday, October 28, 1915.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Wednesday, October 27, 1915. Abandoning the Endurance.

French troops established a bridgehead around Karahojali east of the Vadar River in Macedonia.


Efforts to repair the Endurance having failed, Ernest Shackletn ordered the ship abandoned.

Denver's first Mayor, John C. Moore, died in his early 80s.  

Elected before the Civil War, he was a Southerner with strong Southern views and returned to the South to serve in the Confederate forces during the war, rising to the rank of Colonel in the Confederate Army.  He was a lawyer by training.

Last edition:

Tuesday, October 26, 1915. Coaxing the Afghanis.