Category Archives: 1910s

U.S. troops cross Mexican border to hunt for Pancho Villa 100 years ago this hour (Mar 15 1916)

1910s

(Thursday, March 15, 1916, 12:00 p.m. local time; during the Mexican Revolution) — A U.S. expeditionary force of more than 4,000 troops led by Brig. Gen. John J. Pershing entered Mexico today on an ultimately futile mission to capture Pancho Villa, whose raiders had attacked Columbus, New Mexico, killing 18 U.S. citizens.

Battle of Verdun begins in France 100 years ago this hour (Feb 21 1916)

1910s, World War I


Video: 'World War I: Battle of Verdun' (Feb. 21, 1916, at 7:34; 4 videos)

(Sunday, February 21, 1916, 7:15 a.m. CET; during the Battle of Verdun, part of the Western Front of World War I) — The Battle of Verdun, one of the largest battles of the First World War on the Western Front between the German and French armies, began this morning when a 10-hour German artillery bombardment by 808 guns was launched in the hills north of Verdun-sur-Meuse in northeastern France. Continue reading Battle of Verdun begins in France 100 years ago this hour (Feb 21 1916) →

Last British troops depart Gallipoli peninsula 100 years ago today (Jan 9 1916)

1910s, World War I


Video: 'World War I: Gallipoli Campaign' (4 videos)

(Sunday, January 9, 1916, during the Gallipoli Campaign, part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I) — Allied forces today completed a full retreat from the shores of the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, ending a disastrous invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

The Gallipoli Campaign resulted in 250,000 Allied casualties and greatly discredited Allied military command. Roughly an equal number of Turks were killed or wounded.

Vera Brittain informed of her fiancé’s death at Western Front 100 years ago today (Dec 26 1915)

1910s, World War II


Video: '1914~1918. A BBC History of the Great War: 3. Total War' (Dec. 26, 1915, at 15:27)

(Sunday, December 26, 1915, during World War I) — Vera Brittain, a 21-year-old nurse in the British Red Cross who would become a famous author and feminist after the war, was informed today that her fiancé Roland Leighton, who had been given Christmas leave, had died Dec. 23, 1915, of wounds sustained in battle at the Western Front in France.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson marries Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt in Washington 100 years ago this hour (Dec 18 1915)

1910s, U.S. Presidents

(Saturday, December 18, 1915, 8:30 p.m. local time) — More than 16 months after the death of First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, 59, married Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt, 43, widow of Norman Galt, this evening at the bride’s home in Washington, D.C.

Wilson was the third U.S. president to marry while in office and the second U.S. president to be widowed and remarried while in office.