http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1918
Here are some one liners...
A World Transformed by War and Peace -- Nations are bailing, the Kaiser is sidelined and peace finally breaks out.
The Spanish Influenza Begins in Kansas -- The second wave seems to focus on Spain but the first wave begins in Kansas.
Notable Births -- Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Sam Walton, Paul Harvey, Mike Wallace, Nelson Mandela, Betty Ford, and Nassar.
In Other News -- The first cruise missile, "Wild Bill" Donovan, and the Sedition Act.
A World Transformed by War and Peace
The end of the Great War is characterized by technological innovation, rebellion, and the passing of an lackluster aristocracy. The German "Red Baron" makes his name with 80 victories, many of them in his Fokker (FOCK-er) Triplane until he is shot down by Canadian Roy Brown in his Sopwith Camel. The Ukrainian People's Republic is independent for less than a year. 800 sailors of the Austrian-Hungarian Navy mutiny. Lithuania goes through formal procedures for independence. Russia is tied up in its October Revolution. Estonia declares it's independence and then loses it as German forces advance. Then Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, plus parts of Eastern Turkey become independent. British forces capture Nazareth, Haifa and Jericho. The Kaiser is pushed aside. The German military is now in charge. In one last push before the Americans can overwhelm them, the Germans launch their Spring Offensive, but they outrun their own supply lines. By that time over a million fresh American troops throw their weight against the line and push hard. By November, defeat is certain. The German public is in full rebellion. The German naval leadership is on a "death ride", but German sailors refuse to cooperate. Finally, the Kaiser abdicates and flees to the Netherlands. Germany is a republic. At "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" a truce is declared. It is Armistice Day. Peace talks will begin next year, but generally speaking, this war is over... for now. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
The German military retreated in good order which allowed them to contend that they had not been defeated. The German public believed that they had been "stabbed in the back" by the government leadership, the Jews and the Bolsheviks. The antisemitic novel, "The Sin Against the Blood" became a best seller in Germany that year. President Woodrow Wilson imposed his idealistic, progressive will on the Paris Peace Talks. The Versailles Treaty imposed ruinous requirements on Germany, and set up the conditions for World War 2. Armistice Day became a US national holiday. It was renamed "Veteran's Day" in 1954. [13] [14]
The German military retreated in good order which allowed them to contend that they had not been defeated. The German public believed that they had been "stabbed in the back" by the government leadership, the Jews and the Bolsheviks. The antisemitic novel, "The Sin Against the Blood" became a best seller in Germany that year. President Woodrow Wilson imposed his idealistic, progressive will on the Paris Peace Talks. The Versailles Treaty imposed ruinous requirements on Germany, and set up the conditions for World War 2. Armistice Day became a US national holiday. It was renamed "Veteran's Day" in 1954. [13] [14]
The Spanish Influenza Begins in Kansas
If you look up "middle-of-nowhere" in the dictionary, you will see a picture of Haskell County, Kansas. A violent influenza outbreak begins in January or February. Dr. Miner is the county coroner. He reports on the outbreak of flu as "an influenza of a severe type." These are the earliest documented cases. His reports are unusual because flu is not one of the diseases that are tracked nationally, but it strikes so quickly and violently that Dr. Miner feels compelled to report it. The outbreak probably would have burned out there except that several soldiers come home on leave before shipping out. They carry the disease to Camp Funston, and from there it travels to Europe. By May, Madrid headlines are reporting on the deadly influenza outbreak. That is how it gets the name "Spanish Flu". Three to five percent of the world population will be wiped out in the next two years. Most of the deaths will occur in the 16 weeks beginning in mid-September of this year. It hits young adults the hardest by causing an overreaction of the immune system. Elderly people and those with weaker immune systems are safer. [15] [16] [17] [18]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Kansas is one of the proposed sites for the original outbreak, but there are other credible theories on where it might have begun, including Camp Funston at Fort Riley, Kansas, France and even Spain! The disease tracking disciplines of the modern day did not exist back then, so tracing its origins is nearly impossible. Wherever it started, it reached Haskell County, Kansas early on. Today it has a population of less than 5,000. If you think that relative isolation makes you safe from one of these pandemics, think again.
Kansas is one of the proposed sites for the original outbreak, but there are other credible theories on where it might have begun, including Camp Funston at Fort Riley, Kansas, France and even Spain! The disease tracking disciplines of the modern day did not exist back then, so tracing its origins is nearly impossible. Wherever it started, it reached Haskell County, Kansas early on. Today it has a population of less than 5,000. If you think that relative isolation makes you safe from one of these pandemics, think again.
Notable Births
- Oral Roberts (First televangelist and founder of Oral Roberts University.) [22]
- Sam Walton (Founder of Wal-Mart and Sam's Club.) [23]
- Paul Harvey (Radio personality of Paul Harvey News and The Rest of the Story.) [24]
- Mike Wallace (Correspondent for 60 Minutes and father of Fox News Sunday host, Chris Wallace) [25]
- Nelson Mandela (Anti-apartheid revolutionary, and President of South Africa.) [26]
- Betty Ford (First Lady and co-founder of the Betty Ford Center, a drug and alcohol rehab center.) [27]
- Gamal Abdel Nassar (President of Egypt, will nationalize the Suez Canal, and begin the modernization of Egypt.) [28]
In Other News
- The first cruise missile is developed. This automatic airplane delivers a bomb, but development stalls when peace breaks out. [29]
- "Wild Bill" Donovan receives the Medal of Honor. He will found the OSS which will become the CIA. [30]
- The Sedition Act forbids criticism of the US government. This includes observing that Germany is not a credible threat to the USA. The Supreme Court upholds this law. [31]
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