jgo

jgo's Journal

May 8, 2024

On This Day: Joan of Arc transcends gender roles at Orleans, gaining recognition as savior of France - May 8, 1429

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) was a significant conflict in the Middle Ages. During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then the dominant kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers.

The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces: the Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however, the French forces under the House of Valois ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France.

Lancastrian Phase and after

Overwhelming victories at Agincourt (1415) and Verneuil (1424), as well as an alliance with the Burgundians raised the prospects of an ultimate English triumph and persuaded the English to continue the war over many decades. A variety of factors prevented this, however, [including] the emergence of Joan of Arc (which boosted French morale).

The Siege of Orléans (1429) made English aspirations for conquest all but infeasible. Despite Joan's capture by the Burgundians and her subsequent execution (1431), a series of crushing French victories concluded the siege, favoring the Valois dynasty. Notably, Patay (1429), Formigny (1450), and Castillon (1453) proved decisive in ending the war. England permanently lost most of its continental possessions, with only the Pale of Calais remaining under its control on the continent until the Siege of Calais (1558).

Joan of Arc and French revival

The appearance of Joan of Arc at the siege of Orléans sparked a revival of French spirit, and the tide began to turn against the English. The English laid siege to Orléans in 1428, but their force was insufficient to fully invest the city. In 1429 Joan persuaded the Dauphin to send her to the siege, saying she had received visions from God telling her to drive out the English. She raised the morale of the troops, and they attacked the English redoubts, forcing the English to lift the siege. Inspired by Joan, the French took several English strongholds on the Loire.

Siege of Orléans

The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) marked a turning point of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by French forces inspired by the arrival of Joan of Arc. The French would then regain the initiative in the conflict and began to recapture territories previously occupied by the English.

The city held strategic and symbolic significance to both sides of the conflict. The consensus among contemporaries was that the English regent, John of Lancaster, would have succeeded in realising his brother the English king Henry V's dream of conquering all of France if Orléans fell. For half a year the English and their French allies appeared to be on the verge of capturing the city, but the siege collapsed nine days after Joan of Arc arrived.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc (1412 -1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France.

[Joan and French victories]

Joan was born to a propertied peasant family at Domrémy in northeast France. In 1428, she requested to be taken to Charles, later testifying that she was guided by visions from the archangel Michael, Saint Margaret, and Saint Catherine to help him save France from English domination. Convinced of her devotion and purity, Charles sent Joan, who was about seventeen years old, to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief army. She arrived at the city in April 1429, wielding her banner and bringing hope to the demoralized French army.

Nine days after her arrival, the English abandoned the siege. Joan encouraged the French to aggressively pursue the English during the Loire Campaign, which culminated in another decisive victory at Patay, opening the way for the French army to advance on Reims unopposed, where Charles was crowned as the King of France with Joan at his side. These victories boosted French morale, paving the way for their final triumph in the Hundred Years' War several decades later.

[Burned at the stake]

After Charles's coronation, Joan participated in the unsuccessful siege of Paris in September 1429 and the failed siege of La Charité in November. Her role in these defeats reduced the court's faith in her. In early 1430, Joan organized a company of volunteers to relieve Compiègne, which had been besieged by the Burgundians—French allies of the English. She was captured by Burgundian troops on 23 May. After trying unsuccessfully to escape, she was handed to the English in November. She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men's clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen.

[An early feminist]

In 1456, an inquisitorial court reinvestigated Joan's trial and overturned the verdict, declaring that it was tainted by deceit and procedural errors. Joan has been revered as a martyr, and viewed as an obedient daughter of the Roman Catholic Church, an early feminist, and a symbol of freedom and independence. After the French Revolution, she became a national symbol of France. In 1920, Joan of Arc was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church and, two years later, was declared one of the patron saints of France. She is portrayed in numerous cultural works, including literature, music, paintings, sculptures, and theater.

Orléans

Orléans is a city in north-central France, 74 miles southwest of Paris.

It was the capital of the Kingdom of France during the Merovingian period and played an important role in the Hundred Years' War, particularly known for the role of Joan of Arc during the siege of Orléans. Every first week of May since 1432, the city pays homage to the "Maid of Orléans" during the Johannic Holidays which has been listed in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage in France.

On the south bank the "châtelet des Tourelles" ... was the site of the battle on 8 May 1429 which allowed Joan of Arc to enter and lift the siege of the Plantagenets during the Hundred Years' War, with the help of the royal generals Dunois and Florent d'Illiers. The city's inhabitants have continued to remain faithful and grateful to her to this day, calling her "la pucelle d'Orléans" (the maid of Orléans), offering her a middle-class house in the city, and contributing to her ransom when she was taken prisoner.

Legacy

The city of Orléans commemorates the lifting of the siege with an annual festival, including both modern and medieval elements and a woman representing Joan of Arc in full armor atop a horse.

On 8 May Orléans simultaneously celebrates the lifting of the siege and V-E Day (Victory in Europe, the day that Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies to end World War II in Europe.)
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Orl%C3%A9ans
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orl%C3%A9ans

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On This Day: Sinking of passenger ship Lusitania switches the position of many U.S. pro-Germany supporters - May 7, 1915
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016377157

On This Day: Pop. of Rome falls to 10,000 after sacking, atrocities, famine, plague, flight - May 6, 1527
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016377104

On This Day: 6 fatalities from Axis action in continental U.S. during WW2 - May 5, 1944
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016377037

On This Day: Tiananmen Square protests (not 1989) spur shift in Chinese history - May 4, 1919
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376997

On This Day: Irregular army from U.S. conquers Nicaragua, re-institutes slavery - May 3, 1855
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376965

May 8, 2024

On This Day: Joan of Arc transcends gender roles at Orleans, gaining recognition as savior of France - May 8, 1429

May 7, 2024

On This Day: Sinking of passenger ship Lusitania switches the position of many U.S. pro-Germany supporters - May 7, 1915

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
RMS Lusitania

RMS Lusitania (named after the Roman province corresponding to modern Portugal) was an ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. She was the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of the Mauretania three months later and was awarded the Blue Riband appellation for the fastest Atlantic crossing in 1908. The Lusitania was sunk on her 202nd trans-Atlantic crossing, on 7 May 1915 by a German U-boat 11 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland, killing 1,197 passengers, crew and stowaways. The sinking occurred about two years before the United States declaration of war on Germany but significantly increased public support in the US for entering the war.

The attack took place in the declared maritime war-zone around the UK, three months after unrestricted submarine warfare against the ships of the United Kingdom had been announced by Germany following the Allied powers' implementation of a naval blockade against it and the other Central Powers.

[Torpedo strike]

The passengers had been notified before departing New York of the general danger of voyaging into the area in a British ship, but the attack itself came without warning. From a submerged position 700m to starboard, U-20 commanded by Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger launched a single torpedo at the Cunard liner.

After the torpedo struck, a second explosion occurred inside the ship, which then sank in only 18 minutes. The U-20's mission was to torpedo warships and liners in the Lusitania’s area. In the end, there were only 763 survivors out of the 1,960 passengers, crew and stowaways aboard, and ~128 of the dead were American citizens.

[American entry in WWI]

The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany. It also contributed to the American entry into the War two years later; images of the stricken liner were used heavily in US propaganda and military recruiting campaigns.

[Legitimate or not]

The contemporary investigations in both the United Kingdom and the United States into the precise causes of the ship's loss were obstructed by the needs of wartime secrecy and a propaganda campaign to ensure all blame fell upon Germany. At time of her sinking the primarily passenger-carrying vessel had in her hold around 173 tons of war supplies, comprising 4.2 million rounds of rifle ammunition, almost 5,000 shrapnel-filled artillery shell casings and 3,240 brass percussion fuses. Argument over whether the ship could be legitimately attacked the way that it was has raged back and forth throughout the war and beyond.

[Background]

A series of tit-for-tat moves intensified the naval portion of World War I. The Royal Navy had blockaded Germany at the start of the war; as a reprisal to German naval mining efforts, the UK then declared the North Sea a military area in the autumn of 1914 and mined the approaches. As their own reprisal, Germany had declared the seas around the United Kingdom a war zone, wherein all allied ships would be liable to be sunk without warning. Britain then declared all food imports for Germany were declared contraband.

When submarines failed to sink many ships, the German authorities loosened U-boat rules of engagement. The German embassy in the United States also placed fifty newspaper advertisements warning people of the dangers of sailing on a British ship in the area, which happened to appear just as RMS Lusitania left New York for Britain on 1 May 1915. Objections were made by the British and Americans that threatening to torpedo all ships indiscriminately was wrong, whether it was announced in advance or not.

[German justifications]

The German government attempted to find justifications for sinking Lusitania. Special justifications focused on the small declared cargo of 173 tons of war materiels on board the 44,000 ton displacement ship, and false claims that she was an armed warship and carried Canadian troops. In defense of indiscriminately sinking ships without warning, they asserted that cruiser rules were obsolete, as British merchant ships could be armed and had been instructed to evade or ram U-boats if the opportunity arises, and that the general warning given to all ships in the war zone was sufficient.

After the First World War, successive British governments maintained that there were no "munitions" (apart from small arms ammunition) on board Lusitania, and the Germans were not justified in treating the ship as a naval vessel.

But the most important protests at the time came from the US. Under neutrality inspections, the US was aware the ship was not armed, was acting in accordance with American law, and was chiefly a passenger vessel carrying almost two thousand civilian passengers and crew, including over a hundred American citizens (including many celebrities) among the dead.

[US position]

The US government argued that whatever the circumstances, nothing could justify the killing of large numbers of un-resisting civilians, and that America had a responsibility to protect the lives of law-abiding Americans. The Americans had already warned the Germans repeatedly about their actions, and the Germans had also demonstrated that submarines were able to sink merchant ships under cruiser rules.

The sinking shifted public and leadership opinion in the United States against Germany. US and internal German pressure led to a suspension of German Admiralty policy of deliberately targeting passenger ships, as well as later stronger restrictions. War was eventually declared in 1917 after the German Government chose to violate these restrictions, deliberately attacking American shipping and preparing the way for conflict with the Zimmermann Telegram.

[Warning issued]

In the middle of April, German ambassador Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, who had long had concerns about the legality of the February submarine campaign, and believing the Americans to be underestimating the dangers, consulted a group of representatives of other German administrative departments, and decided to issue a general warning to the American press. This notice was to appear in 50 American newspapers, including those in New York:

NOTICE!
TRAVELLERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.
IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY
Washington, D.C. 22 April 1915

The notice was intended to appear on the Saturdays of April 24, May 1, and May 8, but due to technical difficulties did not appear until 30 April, the day before the Lusitania sailed, appearing in some cases adjacent to an advertisement for the return voyage. The juxtaposition was a coincidence, but the warning led to some agitation in the press, annoyance from the American government, and worried the ship's passengers and crew.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_RMS_Lusitania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania

(edited from article)
"
One of the US’s richest men among victims of Lusitania

Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt

He inherited the family fortune, invested wisely in real estate and lived the life of a rakish playboy. His affair with the wife of a Cuban diplomat was one of the scandals of the age.

Yet he showed himself willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of others.

He was on the Lusitania, going to Britain to conduct a meeting of the International Horse Breeders' Association and travelling with his valet.

When a German U-boat fired a torpedo and struck the ship 12 miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, Co Cork, on May 7th, 1915, he refused to save himself. He gave his lifejacket away and used the critical moments as the ship was sinking to put children into the lifeboats. He showed, according to a report in the New York Times, "gallantry which no words of mine can describe". His body was never found.
"
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/one-of-the-us-s-richest-men-among-victims-of-lusitania-1.2198792

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On This Day: Pop. of Rome falls to 10,000 after sacking, atrocities, famine, plague, flight - May 6, 1527
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016377104

On This Day: 6 fatalities from Axis action in continental U.S. during WW2 - May 5, 1944
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016377037

On This Day: Tiananmen Square protests (not 1989) spur shift in Chinese history - May 4, 1919
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376997

On This Day: Irregular army from U.S. conquers Nicaragua, re-institutes slavery - May 3, 1855
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376965

On This Day: Combat swimmers sink U.S. ship - back in service 7 months later - May 2, 1964
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376954

May 6, 2024

On This Day: Pop. of Rome falls to 10,000 after sacking, atrocities, famine, plague, flight - May 6, 1527

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
Sack of Rome (1527)

The Sack of Rome, then part of the Papal States, followed the capture of the city on 6 May 1527 by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, during his war with the League of Cognac, known as the War of the League of Cognac.

[Looting, slaying, ...]

Despite being ordered not to storm the city, with Charles V intending to only use the threat of military action to make Pope Clement VII come to his terms, a largely unpaid Imperial army formed by 14,000 Germans, many of them Lutheran, 6,000 Spaniards and some Italian contingents occupied the scarcely defended Rome and began looting, slaying and holding citizens for ransom in excess without any restraint.

Swiss Guard annihilated

Clement VII took refuge in Castel Sant'Angelo after the Swiss Guard were annihilated in a delaying rearguard action; he remained there until a ransom was paid to the pillagers.

Benvenuto Cellini, eyewitness to the events, described the sack in his works. It was not until February 1528 that the spread of a plague and the approach of the League forces under Odet de Foix forced the army to withdraw towards Naples from the city. Rome's population had dropped from 55,000 to 10,000 due to the atrocities, famine, an outbreak of plague and flight from the city. The subsequent loss of the League army during the Siege of Naples secured a victory in the War of the League of Cognac for Charles V. The Emperor denied responsibility for the sack and came to terms again with Clement VII. On the other hand, the Sack of Rome further exacerbated religious hatred and antagonism between Catholics and Lutherans.

[Defenses]

The troops defending Rome were not very numerous: only 5,000 militiamen led by Renzo da Ceri and 189 Papal Swiss Guards. The city's defenses included the massive Aurelian Walls, and substantial artillery, which the Imperial army lacked. Duke Charles needed to conquer the city swiftly to avoid the risk of being trapped between the besieged city and the League's army.

On 6 May, the Imperial army attacked the walls at the Gianicolo and Vatican hills. Duke Charles was fatally wounded in the assault, allegedly shot by Benvenuto Cellini. The Duke was wearing his famous white cloak to mark him out to his troops, but it also had the unintended consequence of pointing him out as the leader to his enemies. The death of the last respected commander of authority among the Imperial army caused any restraint in the soldiers to disappear, and they easily stormed the walls of Rome the same day. Philibert of Châlon took command of the troops, but he was not as popular or feared, leaving him with little authority.

In the event known as the Stand of the Swiss Guard, the Swiss, alongside the garrison's remnant, made their last stand in the Teutonic Cemetery within the Vatican. Their captain, Kaspar Röist, was wounded and later sought refuge in his house, where he was killed by Spanish soldiers in front of his wife. The Swiss fought bitterly, but were hopelessly outnumbered and almost annihilated. Some survivors, accompanied by a band of refugees, fell back to the steps of St. Peter's Basilica. Those who went toward the Basilica were massacred, and only 42 survived. This group of 42, under the command of Hercules Goldli, managed to stave off the Habsburg troops pursuing the Pope's entourage as it made its way across the Passetto di Borgo, a secure elevated passage that connects the Vatican City to Castel Sant'Angelo.

[Pillaging]

After the execution of some 1,000 defenders of the Papal capital and shrines, the pillage began. Churches and monasteries, as well as the palaces of prelates and cardinals, were looted and destroyed. Even pro-Imperial cardinals had to pay to save their properties from the rampaging soldiers. On 8 May, Cardinal Pompeo Colonna, a personal enemy of Clement VII, entered the city. He was followed by peasants from his fiefs, who had come to avenge the sacks they had suffered at the hands of the Papal armies. Colonna was touched by the pitiful conditions in the city and gave refuge to some Roman citizens in his palace.

[Vatican Library saved]

The Vatican Library was saved because Philibert had set up his headquarters there. After three days of ravages, Philibert ordered the sack to cease, but few obeyed. In the meantime, Clement remained a prisoner in Castel Sant'Angelo. Francesco Maria I della Rovere and Michele Antonio of Saluzzo arrived with troops on 1 June in Monterosi, north of the city. Their cautious behaviour prevented them from obtaining an easy victory against the now totally undisciplined imperial troops.

On 6 June, Clement VII surrendered, and agreed to pay a ransom of 400,000 ducati in exchange for his life; conditions included the cession of Parma, Piacenza, Civitavecchia, and Modena to the Holy Roman Empire (however, only the last would change hands).

[Venice makes it moves]

At the same time Venice took advantage of this situation to capture Cervia and Ravenna, while Sigismondo Malatesta returned to Rimini.

[End of Italian High Renaissance]

Often cited as the end of the Italian High Renaissance, the Sack of Rome impacted the histories of Europe, Italy, and Christianity, creating lasting ripple effects throughout European culture and politics.

Before the sack, Pope Clement VII opposed the ambitions of Emperor Charles V. Afterward, he no longer had the military or financial resources to do so. To avert more warfare, Clement adopted a conciliatory policy toward Charles.

The sack had major repercussions for Italian society and culture, and in particular, for Rome. Clement's War of the League of Cognac would be the last fight of some of the Italian city-states for independence until the nineteenth century. Rome, which had been a center of Italian High Renaissance culture and patronage and the main destination for any European artist eager for fame and wealth, for the prestigious commissions of the papal court before the sack, suffered depopulation and economic collapse, causing artists and thinkers to scatter.

The city's population dropped from over 55,000 before the attack to 10,000 afterward. An estimated 6,000 to 12,000 people were murdered.

Many Imperial soldiers also died in the aftermath, largely from diseases caused by masses of unburied corpses in the streets. Pillaging finally ended in February 1528, eight months after the initial attack, when the city's food supply ran out, there was no one left to ransom, and plague appeared. Clement would continue artistic patronage and building projects in Rome, but a perceived Medicean golden age had passed. The city did not recover its population losses until approximately 1560.

A power shift – away from the Pope, toward the Emperor – also produced lasting consequences for Catholicism. After learning of the sack, Emperor Charles professed great embarrassment that his troops had imprisoned Pope Clement; however, he had ordered troops to Italy to bring Clement under his control, though he wanted to avoid destruction within the city of Rome, which would be damaging to his reputation.

Charles eventually came to terms with the Pope with the Treaty of Barcelona (1529) and the coronation of Bologna. This done, Charles molded the Church in his own image. Clement, never again to directly oppose the Emperor, rubber-stamped Charles' demands – among them naming cardinals nominated by the latter; crowning Charles Holy Roman Emperor and King of Italy at Bologna in 1530 and refusing to annul the marriage of Charles' beloved aunt, Catherine of Aragon, to King Henry VIII of England, prompting the English Reformation.

[From free thought to orthodoxy]

Cumulatively, these actions changed the complexion of the Catholic Church, steering it away from Renaissance free thought personified by the Medici Popes, toward the religious orthodoxy exemplified by the Counter reformation. After Clement's death in 1534, under the influence of Charles and later his son King Philip II of Spain (1556–1598), the Inquisition became pervasive, and the humanism encouraged by Renaissance culture came to be viewed as contrary to the teachings of the Church.

The sack also contributed to making permanent the split between Catholics and Protestants.

Previously, Charles and Clement had disagreed over how to address Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation, which was spreading throughout Germany. Charles advocated for calling a Church Council to settle the matter. Clement opposed this, believing that monarchs shouldn't dictate Church policy; and also fearing a revival of conciliarism, which had exacerbated the Western Schism during the 14th–15th centuries, and deposed numerous Popes.

Clement advocated for fighting a Holy War to unite Christendom. Charles opposed this because his armies and treasury were occupied in fighting other wars. After the sack, Clement acceded to Charles' wishes, agreeing to call a Church Council and naming the city of Trent, Italy as its site. He did not convene the Council of Trent during his lifetime, fearing that the event would be a dangerous power play. In 1545, eleven years after Clement's death, his successor Pope Paul III convened the Council of Trent. As Charles predicted, it reformed the corruption present in certain orders of the Catholic Church.

However, by 1545, the moment for reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants – arguably a possibility during the 1520s, given cooperation between the Pope and Emperor – had passed. In assessing the effects of the Sack of Rome, Martin Luther commented: "Christ reigns in such a way that the Emperor who persecutes Luther for the Pope is forced to destroy the Pope for Luther" (LW 49:169).

In commemoration of the Swiss Guard's bravery in defending Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome, recruits to the Swiss Guard are sworn in on 6 May every year.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sack_of_Rome_(1527)

---------------------------------------------------------

On This Day: 6 fatalities from Axis action in continental U.S. during WW2 - May 5, 1944
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016377037

On This Day: Tiananmen Square protests (not 1989) spur shift in Chinese history - May 4, 1919
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376997

On This Day: Irregular army from U.S. conquers Nicaragua, re-institutes slavery - May 3, 1855
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376965

On This Day: Combat swimmers sink U.S. ship - back in service 7 months later - May 2, 1964
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376954

On This Day: Normans invade Ireland, many merging with native Gaels, now with common surnames - May 1, 1169
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376899

May 5, 2024

On This Day: 6 fatalities from Axis action in continental U.S. during WW2 - May 5, 1944

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
Fu-Go Balloon Bomb

Fu-Go was an incendiary balloon weapon deployed by Japan against the United States during World War II. It consisted of a hydrogen-filled paper balloon 33 feet in diameter, with a payload of four 11-pound incendiary devices and one 33-pound high-explosive anti-personnel bomb. The uncontrolled balloons were carried over the Pacific Ocean from Japan to North America by fast, high-altitude air currents, today known as the jet stream, and used a sophisticated sandbag ballast system to maintain their altitude. The bombs were intended to ignite large-scale forest fires and spread panic.

[About 300 cross the ocean]

Between November 1944 and April 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army launched about 9,300 balloons from sites on coastal Honshu, of which about 300 were found or observed in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The bombs were ineffective as fire starters due to damp seasonal conditions, with no forest fires being attributed to the offensive.

[Six civilians killed in Oregon]

A U.S. media censorship campaign prevented the Imperial Army from learning of the offensive's results. On May 5, 1945, six civilians were killed by one of the bombs near Bly, Oregon, becoming the war's only fatalities in the continental U.S. The Fu-Go balloon bomb was the first weapon system with intercontinental range, predating the intercontinental ballistic missile.

[How the balloons made it so far]

Changing pressure levels in a fixed-volume balloon posed technical challenges. During the day, heat from the sun increased pressure, risking the balloon rising above the air currents or bursting. A relief valve was added to allow gas to escape when the envelope's internal pressure rose above a set level. At night, cool temperatures risked the balloon falling below the currents, an issue that worsened as gas was released. To resolve this, engineers developed a sophisticated ballast system with 32 sandbags mounted around a cast aluminum wheel, with each sandbag connected to gunpowder blowout plugs.

The plugs were connected to three redundant aneroid barometers calibrated for an altitude between 25,000 and 27,000 feet, below which one sandbag was released; the next plug was armed two minutes after the previous plug was blown. A separate altimeter set between 13,000 and 20,000 feet controlled the later release of the bombs. A one-hour activating fuse for the altimeters was ignited at launch, allowing the balloon time to ascend above these two thresholds.

A self-destruct system was added; a three-minute fuse triggered by the release of the last bomb would detonate a block of picric acid and destroy the carriage, followed by an 82-minute fuse that would ignite the hydrogen and destroy the envelope.

Offensive

A balloon launch organization of three battalions was formed. The first battalion included headquarters and three squadrons, totaling 1,500 men, at nine launch stations at Otsu in Ibaraki Prefecture. The second battalion of 700 men in three squadrons operated six launch stations at Ichinomiya, Chiba, and the third battalion of 600 men in two squadrons operated six launch stations at Nakoso, Fukushima. The Otsu site featured its own hydrogen plant, while the second and third battalions used hydrogen gas transported from factories around Tokyo. The combined launching capacity of the sites was about 200 balloons per day, with 15,000 launches planned through March. The Army estimated that only 10 percent of the balloons would survive the journey across the Pacific Ocean.

The first balloons were launched on November 3, 1944. Two weeks after the discovery of the B-Type balloon off San Pedro, an A-Type balloon was found in the ocean off Kailua, Hawaii, on November 14. More were found near Thermopolis, Wyoming, on December 6 (with an explosion heard by witnesses, and a crater later located) and near Kalispell, Montana, on December 11, followed by finds near Marshall and Holy Cross, Alaska, and Estacada, Oregon, later in the month.

Authorities were placed on heightened alert, and forest rangers were ordered to report landings and recoveries. The balloons continued to be discovered across North America, with sightings and partial or full recoveries in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan (where an incendiary bomb was found at Farmington in the easternmost incident), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming; in Canada in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest and Yukon Territories; in Mexico in Baja California Norte and Sonora; and at sea. By August 1945, the U.S. Army had recorded 285 balloon incidents.

[Wildfires defense]

Most U.S. defense plans were only fully implemented after the offensive ended in April 1945. In response to the threat of wildfires in the Pacific Northwest during the summer months, the Army's Western Defense Command (WDC), Fourth Air Force, and Ninth Service Command organized the "Firefly Project" with a number of Stinson L-5 Sentinel and Douglas C-47 Skytrain aircraft and 2,700 troops, including 200 paratroopers from the all-black 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, who were deployed in 36 firefighting missions between May and October 1945.

The Army used the U.S. Forest Service as a proxy agency, unifying fire suppression communications between federal and state agencies and modernizing the service through an influx of military personnel, equipment, and tactics.

[Countermeasures for biological warfare]

In the WDC's "Lightning Project", health and agricultural officers, veterinarians, and 4-H clubs were instructed to report any new diseases of crops or livestock caused by potential biological warfare. Stocks of decontamination chemicals, ultimately unused, were shipped to key points in the western states. Although biological warfare had been a concern for months, the WDC's plan was not formalized and fully implemented until July 1945. A sub-section of the project, "Arrow", provided for rapid air transportation of all balloon remains to the Technical Air Intelligence Center laboratory in Washington, D.C., for biological analysis.[30] A U.S. investigation after the war concluded there had not been plans for chemical or biological payloads.

[Some balloons shot down]

Army Air Forces and Navy fighter planes were scrambled on several occasions to intercept balloons, but they had little success due to inaccurate sighting reports, bad weather, and the very high altitude at which they traveled. In all, only about 20 balloons were shot down by U.S. and Canadian pilots.

[Where did the balloons come from?]

Few American officials believed at first that the balloons could have come directly from Japan. Statistical analysis of valve serial numbers suggested that tens of thousands of balloons had been produced. The mineral and diatom composition of sand from the sandbags was studied by the Military Geology Unit of the United States Geological Survey, which assessed its origin as Shiogama, Miyagi, or less likely, Ichinomiya, Chiba, only the latter being correct.

Censorship campaign

On January 4, 1945, the U.S. Office of Censorship sent a confidential memo to newspaper editors and radio broadcasters asking that they give no publicity to balloon incidents; this proved highly effective, with the agency sending another memo three months later stating that cooperation had been "excellent" and that "there is no question that your refusal to publish or broadcast information about these balloons has baffled the Japanese, annoyed and hindered them, and has been an important contribution to security."

Starting in mid-February 1945, Japanese propaganda broadcasts falsely announced numerous fires and a panicked American public, further claiming casualties in the hundreds or thousands.

One breach occurred in late February, when Representative Arthur L. Miller mentioned the balloons in a weekly column he sent to all 91 newspapers in his Nebraska district. In response, intelligence officers at the Seventh Service Command in Omaha contacted the editors at all 91 papers, requesting censorship; this was largely successful.

In late March, the United Press (UP) wrote a detailed article on the balloons intended for its national distributors. Censors contacted the UP, which replied that the article had not yet been teletyped; all five copies were retrieved and destroyed. Investigators determined the information originated from a briefing to Colorado state legislators, which had been leaked in an open session.

In [two] cases, the Office of Censorship deemed it unnecessary to censor the Sunday comics, [which depicted balloon attacks].

[Widespread fires don't happen]

As predicted by Imperial Army officials, the winter and spring launch dates had limited the chances of the incendiaries starting fires due to the high levels of precipitation in the Pacific Northwest; forests were generally snow-covered or too damp to catch fire easily. Furthermore, much of the western U.S. received disproportionately more precipitation in 1945 than in any other year in the decade, with some areas receiving 4 to 10 inches of precipitation more than other years.

[Irony - site of plutonium used for Nagasaki]

The most damaging attack occurred on March 10, 1945, when a balloon descended near Toppenish, Washington, and collided with electric transmission lines, causing a short circuit which cut off power to the Manhattan Project's production facility at the state's Hanford Engineer Works. Backup devices restored power to the site, but it took three days for its plutonium-producing nuclear reactors to be restored to full capacity; the plutonium was later used in Fat Man, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

Single lethal attack

On May 5, 1945, six civilians were killed near Bly, Oregon, when they discovered one of the balloon bombs in Fremont National Forest, becoming the only fatalities from Axis action in the continental U.S. during the war. Reverend Archie Mitchell and his pregnant wife Elsie (age 26) drove up Gearhart Mountain that day with five of their Sunday school students for a picnic. While Archie was parking the car, Elsie and the children discovered a balloon and carriage, loaded with an anti-personnel bomb, on the ground. A large explosion occurred; the four boys were killed instantly, while Elsie and Joan Patzke died from their wounds shortly afterwards. An Army investigation concluded that the bomb had likely been kicked or dropped, and that it had lain undisturbed for about one month before the incident. The U.S. press blackout was lifted on May 22 so the public could be warned of the balloon threat.

In 1987, a group of Japanese women involved in Fu-Go production as schoolgirls delivered 1,000 paper cranes to the victims' families as a symbol of peace and healing, and six cherry trees were planted at the site on the incident's 50th anniversary in 1995.

[Remains of balloons, live bomb, continued to be discovered - 2014 and 2019]

The remains of balloons have continued to be discovered after the war. At least eight were found in the 1940s, three in the 1950s, two in the 1960s, and one in the 1970s. A carriage with a live bomb was found near Lumby, British Columbia, in 2014 and detonated by a Royal Canadian Navy ordnance disposal team.

Remains of another balloon were found near McBride, British Columbia, in 2019. Many war museums in the U.S. and Canada hold Fu-Go fragments, including the National Air and Space Museum and Canadian War Museum.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fu-Go_balloon_bomb

---------------------------------------------------------

On This Day: Tiananmen Square protests (not 1989) spur shift in Chinese history - May 4, 1919
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376997

On This Day: Irregular army from U.S. conquers Nicaragua, re-institutes slavery - May 3, 1855
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376965

On This Day: Combat swimmers sink U.S. ship - back in service 7 months later - May 2, 1964
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376954

On This Day: Normans invade Ireland, many merging with native Gaels, now with common surnames - May 1, 1169
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376899

On This Day: French lose signature battle during invasion of Mexico, while US fights Civil War - Apr. 30, 1863
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376849

May 4, 2024

On This Day: Tiananmen Square protests (not 1989) spur shift in Chinese history - May 4, 1919

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
May Fourth Movement

The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles decision to allow Japan to retain territories in Shandong that had been surrendered by Germany after the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914. The demonstrations sparked nation-wide protests and spurred an upsurge in Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization away from cultural activities, and a move towards a populist base, away from traditional intellectual and political elites.

[CCP trajectory]

The May Fourth demonstrations marked a turning point in a broader anti-traditional New Culture Movement (1915–1921) that sought to replace traditional Confucian values and was itself a continuation of late Qing reforms. Even after 1919, these educated "new youths" still defined their role with a traditional model in which the educated elite took responsibility for both cultural and political affairs.

They opposed traditional culture but looked abroad for cosmopolitan inspiration in the name of nationalism and were an overwhelmingly urban movement that espoused populism in an overwhelmingly rural country. Many political and social leaders of the next five decades emerged at this time, including those of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Background

"The atmosphere and political mood that emerged around 1919," in the words of Oxford University historian Rana Mitter, "are at the center of a set of ideas that has shaped China's momentous twentieth century."

The Qing dynasty had disintegrated in 1911, marking the end of thousands of years of imperial rule in China, and theoretically ushered a new era in which political power rested nominally with the people. After the death of President Yuan Shikai in 1916, China became a fragmented nation dominated by warlords more concerned with political power and rival regional armies. The government in Beijing focused on suppressing internal dissent and could do little to counter foreign influence and control.

Chinese Premier Duan Qirui's signing of the secret Sino-Japanese Joint Defence Agreement in 1918 enraged the Chinese public when it was leaked to the press, and sparked a student protest movement that laid the groundwork for the May Fourth Movement. The March 1st Movement in Korea in 1919, the Russian Revolution of 1917, continued defeats by foreign powers and the presence of spheres of influence further inflamed Chinese nationalism among the emerging middle class and cultural leaders.

["Mr. Science" and "Mr. Democracy"]

Leaders of the New Culture Movement believed that traditional Confucian values were responsible for the political weakness of the nation. Chinese nationalists called for a rejection of traditional values and the adoption of Western ideals of "Mr. Science" and "Mr. Democracy" in place of "Mr. Confucius" in order to strengthen the new nation. These iconoclastic and anti-traditional views and programs have shaped China's politics and culture through to the present day.

Shandong Problem

China had entered World War I on the side of the Triple Entente in 1917. Although that year, 140,000 Chinese laborers were sent to the Western Front as a part of the Chinese Labor Corps, the Treaty of Versailles ratified in April 1919 awarded rights to the German territories in Shandong to Japan.

[U.S. policy not adopted]

The Western allies dominated the meeting at Versailles, and paid little heed to Chinese demands. The European delegations were primarily interested in punishing Germany. Although the American delegation promoted Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points and the ideals of self-determination, they were unable to advance these ideals in the face of stubborn resistance by David Lloyd George and Clemenceau.

American advocacy of self-determination at the League of Nations was attractive to Chinese intellectuals, but their failure to follow through was seen as a betrayal. This diplomatic failure at the Paris Peace Conference created what became known as the "Shandong Problem".

Participants

On May 4, 1919, the May Fourth Movement, as a student patriotic movement, was initiated by a group of Chinese students protesting the contents of the Paris Peace Conference. Under the pressure of the May Fourth Movement, the Chinese delegation refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

Later, some advanced students in Shanghai and Guangzhou joined the protest movement, gradually forming a wave of mass student strikes across China.

Until June 1919, the Beijing government carried out the "June 3" arrests, arresting nearly 1,000 students one after another, but this did not suppress the patriotic student movement but angered the whole Chinese people, leading to a greater revolutionary storm. Shanghai workers went on strike, and businessmen went on strike to support students' patriotic movement across the country. The Chinese working class entered the political arena through the May Fourth Movement.

[Strike of unprecedented scale]

With the emergence of working-class support, the May Fourth Movement developed to a new stage. The center of the movement shifted from Beijing to Shanghai, and the working class replaced students as the main force of the movement. The Shanghai working class staged a strike of an unprecedented scale.

[Country paralyzed]

The growing scale of the national strike and the increasing number of its participants led to a paralysis of the country's economic life and posed a serious threat to the government in Beijing. The working class took the place of the students to stand up and resist. The support for this movement throughout the country reflected the enthusiasm for nationalism and national rejuvenation, which was also the foundation for the development and expansion of the May Fourth Movement.

Newspapers, magazines, citizen societies, and chambers of commerce offered support for the students. Merchants threatened to withhold tax payments if China's government remained obstinate. In Shanghai, a general strike of merchants and workers nearly devastated the entire Chinese economy.

Chinese representatives in Paris refused to sign the Versailles Treaty: the May Fourth Movement won an initial victory which was primarily symbolic, since Japan for the moment retained control of the Shandong Peninsula and the islands in the Pacific. Even the partial success of the movement exhibited the ability of China's social classes across the country to successfully collaborate given proper motivation and leadership.

Historical significance

Scholars rank the New Culture and May Fourth Movements as significant turning points, as David Der-wei Wang said, "it was the turning point in China's search for literary modernity", along with the abolition of the civil service system in 1905 and the overthrow of the monarchy in 1911.

The challenge to traditional Chinese values, however, was also met with strong opposition, especially from the Kuomintang. From their perspective, the movement destroyed the positive elements of Chinese tradition and placed a heavy emphasis on direct political actions and radical attitudes, characteristics associated with the emerging Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In its broader sense, the May Fourth Movement led to the establishment of radical intellectuals who went on to mobilize peasants and workers into the CCP and gain the organizational strength that would solidify the success of the Chinese Communist Revolution.

[Chinese Communism]

In 1939, CCP senior leader Mao Zedong claimed that the May Fourth Movement was a stage leading toward the fulfillment of the Chinese Communist Revolution.

Paul French argues that the only victor of the Treaty of Versailles in China was communism, as rising public anger led directly to the formation of the CCP. The Treaty also led to Japan pursuing its conquests with greater boldness, which Wellington Koo had predicted in 1919 would lead to the outbreak of war between China and Japan.

Western-style liberal democracy had previously had a degree of traction amongst Chinese intellectuals. Still, after Versailles, which was viewed as a betrayal of China's interests, it lost much of its attractiveness. Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points, despite being rooted in moralism, were also seen as Western-centric and hypocritical.

Many Chinese intellectuals believed that the United States had done little to convince the other nations to adhere to the Fourteen Points and observed that the United States had declined to join the League of Nations. As a result, they turned away from the Western liberal democratic model. With victory of the Russian October Revolution in 1917, Marxism began to take hold in Chinese intellectual thought, particularly among those already on the Left. Chinese intellectuals such as Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao began serious study of Marxist doctrine.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Fourth_Movement

---------------------------------------------------------

On This Day: Irregular army from U.S. conquers Nicaragua, re-institutes slavery - May 3, 1855
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376965

On This Day: Combat swimmers sink U.S. ship - back in service 7 months later - May 2, 1964
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376954

On This Day: Normans invade Ireland, many merging with native Gaels, now with common surnames - May 1, 1169
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376899

On This Day: French lose signature battle during invasion of Mexico, while US fights Civil War - Apr. 30, 1863
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376849

On This Day: Ali loses boxing title. Later conscientious objector conviction overturned by SC - Apr. 29, 1967
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376759

May 3, 2024

On This Day: Irregular army from U.S. conquers Nicaragua, re-institutes slavery - May 3, 1855

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
[Filibuster War and William Walker]

The Filibuster War or Walker affair was a military conflict between filibustering multinational troops stationed in Nicaragua and a coalition of Central American armies. An American mercenary, William Walker, invaded Nicaragua in 1855 with a small private army. He seized control of the country by 1856, but was ousted the following year.

Walker declared himself president, re-instituted slavery, and made English the official language.

[Nicaragua in flux]

Nicaragua's independence from Spain, Mexico, and then from the United Provinces of Central America in 1838, did not free it from foreign interference.

[Gold rush leads to canal fever]

The 1850s California Gold Rush created interest in the United States in finding a quicker route between the American east and west coasts. However, Great Britain had long been present on the coast of Nicaragua, which created tension between the two countries. The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was signed in 1850, in which both sides "agreed that neither would claim exclusive power over a future canal in Central America nor gain exclusive control over any part of the region." Many Nicaraguans originally welcomed this treaty because of the potential financial benefits a canal could bring.

Following Nicaraguan independence from Spain, a conflict over power developed between the liberal party, based in León, and the conservative party, based in Granada.

In 1854, a civil war erupted in Nicaragua between the Legitimist Party (also called the 'Conservative party'), and the Democratic Party (also called the 'Liberal party'). The liberal elite of León was losing the struggle to unseat the conservative elite of Granada and turned for help to a San Francisco-based soldier of fortune named William Walker. Walker was known as an adventurer who sought to take control of Latin American countries with the purpose of making them a part of the United States.

[Private army departs San Francisco - May 3, 1855]

To circumvent American neutrality laws, Walker obtained a contract from Democratic president Francisco Castellón to bring as many as three hundred "colonists" to Nicaragua. Walker sailed from San Francisco on 3 May 1855, with approximately 60 men. Upon landing, the force was reinforced by 170 locals and about 100 Americans.

Establishment of Walker

With Castellón's consent, Walker attacked the Legitimists in the town of Rivas, near the trans-isthmian route. He was driven off, but not without inflicting heavy casualties. On 4 September, during the Battle of La Virgen, Walker defeated the Legitimist army. On 13 October, he conquered the Legitimist capital of Granada and took effective control of the country. Initially, as commander of the army, Walker ruled Nicaragua through puppet President Patricio Rivas. U.S. President Franklin Pierce recognized Walker's regime as the legitimate government of Nicaragua on 20 May 1856.

Central American counterattack

Walker had scared his neighbors with talk of further military conquests in Central America. Juan Rafael Mora, President of Costa Rica, rejected Walker's diplomatic overtures and instead declared war on his regime. Walker sent Colonel Schlessinger to invade Costa Rica in a preemptive action, but his forces were defeated at the Battle of Santa Rosa in March 1856.

In April 1856, Costa Rican troops penetrated into Nicaraguan territory and inflicted a defeat on Walker's men at the Second Battle of Rivas, in which Juan Santamaría, later to be recognized as one of Costa Rica's national heroes, sacrificed himself to burn down the place where the Filibusters were staying.

Walker set himself up as President of Nicaragua, after conducting an uncontested election. He was inaugurated on 12 July 1856, and soon launched an Americanization program, reinstating slavery, declaring English an official language and reorganizing currency and fiscal policy to encourage immigration from the United States of America.

Meanwhile, government representatives from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala signed in the City of Guatemala a Treaty of Alliance on 18 July 1856, for "defense of its sovereignty and independence". On 14 September, Septentrión Army (as the allied army was called) forces managed the first victory of the patriotic Nicaraguans in the so-called Battle of San Jacinto.

By the end of 1856, Walker ordered the destruction [burning] of Granada.

[Cornelius Vanderbilt becomes involved]

The Costa Rican government resumed action in late 1856, and developed plans to take over the San Juan River in order to cut Walker's supply of weapons and new recruits. Cornelius Vanderbilt sent one of his agents, Sylvanus Spencer, to collaborate with the Costa Rican army in order to recover the possession of the Transit Company he had lost to Walker. Spencer arrived to San Jose in November 1856 and was assigned to a company under Major Maximo Blanco to take over the steamers of the Transit Company. By January 1857, the Costa Rican army was in control of the San Juan River and all the steamers of the Transit Company.

Meanwhile, Walker was expelled from Granada by the rest of the allied armies.

Walker's surrender

Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, and other Central American countries united to drive Walker out in 1857. During this time, Granada was burned and thousands of Central Americans lost their lives. The final battle of what Nicaraguans called the "National War" (1856–1857) took place in the spring of 1857 in the town of Rivas, Nicaragua. Walker beat off the attacks, but the effort diminished the strength and morale of his forces and he soon succumbed.

The National War made for the cooperation between the Liberal and Conservative parties, which had brought Walker to Nicaragua. On 1 May 1857, Walker surrendered to Commander Charles Henry Davis of the United States Navy and was repatriated. Upon disembarking in New York City, he was greeted as a hero, but he alienated public opinion when he blamed his defeat on the U.S. Navy.

Filibuster (military)

A filibuster (from the Spanish filibustero), also known as a freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country or territory to foster or support a political revolution or secession. The term is usually applied to United States citizens who incited insurrections across Latin America, particularly in the mid-19th century, usually with the goal of establishing an American-loyal regime that could later be annexed into, or serve the interests of, the United States. Probably the most notable example is the Filibuster War initiated by William Walker in Nicaragua in the 1850s.

Filibusters are irregular soldiers who act without official authorization from their own government, and are generally motivated by financial gain, political ideology, or the thrill of adventure. Unlike mercenaries, filibusters are independently motivated and work for themselves, whilst a mercenary leader operates on behalf of others. The freewheeling actions of the filibusters of the 1850s led to the name being applied figuratively to the political act of filibustering in the United States Congress.

History

The Spanish [derived term] entered the English language in the 1850s, as applied to military adventurers from the United States then operating in Central America and the Spanish West Indies.

In 1806, the general Francisco de Miranda launched an unsuccessful expedition to liberate Venezuela from Spanish rule with volunteers from the United States recruited in New York City. The three most prominent filibusters of that era were Narciso López and John Quitman in Cuba and William Walker in Baja California, Sonora, Costa Rica and lastly Nicaragua. The term returned to American parlance to refer to López's 1851 Cuban expedition.

Other filibusters include the Americans Aaron Burr, William Blount (West Florida), Augustus W. Magee (Texas), George Mathews (East Florida), George Rogers Clark (Louisiana and Mississippi), William S. Smith (Venezuela), Ira Allen (Canada), William A. Chanler (Cuba and Venezuela), Samuel Brannan (Hawaii), Joseph C. Morehead and Henry Alexander Crabb (Sonora) and James Long (Texas).

Although the American public often enjoyed reading about the thrilling adventures of filibusters, Americans involved in filibustering expeditions were usually in violation of the Neutrality Act of 1794 that made it illegal for a citizen to wage war against another country at peace with the United States. For example, the journalist John L. O'Sullivan, who coined the related phrase "manifest destiny", was put on trial for raising money for López's failed filibustering expedition in Cuba.

The Neutrality Act of 1818 became of great frustration for American filibusters. Article 6 stated anyone engaged in filibustering could receive a maximum three years imprisonment and three thousand dollars in fines. However, it was not uncommon for early Republic politicians to "overlook" and sometimes "assist" some filibuster missions in the hopes to add to U.S. territory. This conflict meant the army were reluctant to arrest filibusters who broke the terms of this legislation. Officers were worried that without permission from the U.S. district court to make these arrests, they could face arrest themselves.

Filibusters and the press

There was widespread support in the press for filibusters' missions. A number of journalists were sympathetic towards filibusters.

However, filibustering was not universally praised in the press. Papers backing the Republican party's position of being anti-filibuster would use the term to denounce not just actors such as William Walker but also the abolitionist filibuster John Brown.

Connection to slavery

The mid-nineteenth century (1848–1860) saw Southern planters raise private armies for expeditions to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America to acquire territories that could be annexed to the Union as slave states. Despite not being authorized by their government, Southern elites often held considerable sway over U.S. foreign policy and national politics. Despite widespread opposition from Northerners, filibustering thrust slavery into American foreign policy.

Historians have noted that filibustering was not a common practice and was carried out by "the most radical proslavery expansionists". Hardline defenders of slavery saw its preservation as their "top priority", leading to support for filibusters and their campaigns abroad. At the height of filibustering, pro-slavery politicians wanted to expand the United States further into Latin America, as far as Paraguay and Peru. However, these attempts were quickly withdrawn when military and diplomatic retaliation was pursued.

Many future Confederate officers and soldiers obtained valuable military experience from filibuster expeditions.

[Historical debate]

In the traditional historiography in both the United States and Latin America, Walker's filibustering represented the high tide of antebellum American imperialism. His brief seizure of Nicaragua in 1855 is typically called a representative expression of manifest destiny with the added factor of trying to expand slavery into Central America. Historian Michel Gobat, however, presents a strongly revisionist interpretation. He argues that Walker was invited in by Nicaraguan liberals who were trying to force economic modernization and political liberalism, and that thus it was not an attempted projection of American power.

Masculinity and filibustering

Historians such as Gail Bederman and Amy Greenburg have noted the influence of masculinity of filibustering, particularly the form of 'martial manhood' that many filibusterers adopted during the period. Many men in antebellum America sought a return to the type of masculinity displayed on the frontier – one supposedly of strength, violence and self reliance. Greenburg uses primary sources to examine the appeal to masculinity in the recruitment campaigns of filibuster missions, focusing on how the deteriorating working class conditions enabled locations such as Nicaragua to be advertised as a space for men to celebrate their strength.

Bederman, meanwhile, emphasises the importance of nostalgia for the American frontier, and draws together notions of race, masculinity and gender to display how people felt insecure in their identities so reverted back to the typical ideal of what it meant to be a white man.

Women's involvement with filibustering

Women often participated in filibustering, taking active roles such as planning, propaganda, participation, and popularization. Women also composed songs, arranged balls and concerts on behalf of the filibusters. Most of the interest came from women in the Gulf and Mid-Atlantic states as they were closer to the events. Correspondingly those in the Northern states tended not to take much interest in what was going on further south. Many women attended the filibuster expeditions as settlers, to help with casualties and to aid the expeditions in any way they could. Many women were at the front line experiencing first hand the armed engagements. A few even took up arms and used them to defend their men and property.

Filibusters and freemasonry

Several well-known figures in filibusterism were also Freemasons and this organization played a major role within the hierarchy of the filibusters.

[Opposition discourse and Latin American identity]

Historians such as Aims McGuinness promote the view that Filibustering catalysed an opposition discourse, that Manifest Destiny had spawned. In doing so this discourse in addition to the trauma and collective memory of the Filibuster War (caused by events such as the burning of Granada) is theorised to have created the original sense of widespread Latin American identity and Costa-Rican national identity.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster_(military)

---------------------------------------------------------

On This Day: Combat swimmers sink U.S. ship - back in service 7 months later - May 2, 1964
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376954

On This Day: Normans invade Ireland, many merging with native Gaels, now with common surnames - May 1, 1169
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376899

On This Day: French lose signature battle during invasion of Mexico, while US fights Civil War - Apr. 30, 1863
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376849

On This Day: Ali loses boxing title. Later conscientious objector conviction overturned by SC - Apr. 29, 1967
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376759

On This Day: Bismarck backs down from threat of war with France - Apr. 28, 1887
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016376697

May 2, 2024

On This Day: Combat swimmers sink U.S. ship - back in service 7 months later - May 2, 1964

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
Attack on USNS Card

The attack on USNS Card was a Viet Cong (VC) operation during the Vietnam War. It took place in the port of Saigon in the early hours of 2 May 1964, and was mounted by commandos from the 65th Special Operations Group.

Card was first commissioned into the United States Navy during World War II. Decommissioned in 1946, Card was reactivated in 1958 and reentered service with the Military Sea Transport Service, transporting military equipment to South Vietnam as part of the United States military commitment to that country.

As a regular visitor to the port, Card became a target for local VC commando units. Shortly after midnight on 2 May 1964, two Viet Cong commandos climbed out of the sewer tunnel near the area where Card was anchored, and they attached two loads of explosives to the ship's hull. The attack was a success and Card sank in 48 feet of water. Five civilian crew members were killed by the explosions. The ship was refloated 17 days later and towed to the Philippines for repairs.

Background

With the escalation of the Vietnam War, the United States government stepped up military support for South Vietnam's fight against the Viet Cong. On 15 December 1961, USNS Card left Quonset Point, Rhode Island, with a cargo of H-21 Shawnee helicopters and U.S. soldiers from Fort Devens, Massachusetts, bound for Vietnam. At Subic Bay in the Philippines, the cargo and troops were transferred to USS Princeton, which arrived and unloaded off the coast of Đà Nẵng the following month.

From 1961 onwards, Card and USNS Core regularly docked in Saigon to unload heavy artillery, M113 armored personnel carriers, aircraft, helicopters and ammunition for the South Vietnamese government. To facilitate the arrival of Card and other American ships which pulled into Saigon, the South Vietnamese military often deployed navy vessels to conduct patrols around the port, while the surrounding shores were protected by an elite Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Airborne battalion.

The port itself was guarded round the clock by Republic of Vietnam National Police, as undercover South Vietnamese agents operated across the river in the Thủ Thiêm area to disrupt VC activities there. Undeterred by the level of protection which the South Vietnamese government normally afforded to American ships, Trần Hải Phụng—commander of the Viet Cong's Saigon-Gia Dinh Military District [vi]—ordered the 65th Special Operations Group to attack USNS Card.

[Prelude to sinking of USNS Card]

Lâm Sơn Náo, a commando of the 65th Special Operations Group, was also an electrician at the port facility.

As his unit was assigned with the mission to attack the carrier, Náo took advantage of his position as an employee at the port facility, to reconnoitre Card to design the best strategy to sabotage the ship and all the military hardware on board. Náo's father had previously worked at the port facility as a tradesman, so he memorized all the tunnels and sewage systems at the facility. He advised Náo that the best way to enter the area where American ships normally anchored was through the sewer tunnel opposite Thủ Thiêm.

While bathing in the Saigon River, Náo inspected the sewer tunnel, which his father had advised him to use. Náo concluded that the tunnel would provide the best access to the American area, but it also presented challenges. The sewage tunnel contained waste and toxic oils which could cause blindness, so Náo and his men would have to close their eyes as they moved through it to avoid blindness.

Náo and his men had to bathe to purge deadly odours to avoid detection, and probably arrest, by South Vietnamese authorities. After Náo had surveyed the tunnels leading to the port, he presented his plan to the Saigon-Gia Dinh Military District Headquarters. Nao decided to utilise high explosives, enough to sink a ship, and to detonate them using a timer so that his men could get away safely. Náo's superiors approved the plan and they ordered him to launch the attack before sunrise to avoid killing local Vietnamese civilians.

Náo returned to Saigon and began assembling the equipment required for the attack, which included C4 plastic explosives, TNT, wire, mine detonators and batteries. Náo trained new commandos, namely Nguyễn Phú Hùng (an electrician) and Nguyễn Văn Cậy (a mason), to support his operation. To ensure success, Náo measured the height, length and width of the sewer tunnel to assemble the bomb devices to the right size, to be carried through the tunnel unhindered.

Towards the end of 1963, Náo received news that Card had arrived in Saigon with another load of armored personnel carriers, artillery and aircraft. But the carrier turned out to be her sister ship, USNS Core. On the evening of 29 December 1963, Náo and Cậy carried their bomb devices, which had about 180 lb of explosives, through the sewer tunnel. They attached the explosives to Core's hull, set the timer and retreated into the sewer to await the outcome.

The bombs failed to explode because the battery had expired due to protracted storage. Determined the operation would remain a secret, the commandos snuck back to Core and retrieved the explosive devices. Soon, Core and its crew sailed from Saigon without any damage. Náo reported the mission failure to the Saigon-Gia Dinh Military District Headquarters. His superiors did not express disappointment in the failure, but they encouraged Náo and his men to destroy Card at all costs.

Successful attack

When Náo received news Card had arrived in Saigon, he inspected the equipment which included a new battery and a redesigned bomb. Náo decided to set off the bombs during the early hours of 2 May, so that he and his fellow operative could escape safely and avoid inflicting casualties on the local population. Due to illness, Cậy declined to take part in the operation, so Hùng had to replace him.

At around 09:00 on 1 May, Náo went to Hùng's home, where the latter was given a hand grenade and was notified of an upcoming operation without much detail. At 18:00, after Náo had finished loading the bombs onto one canoe, he and Hùng traveled down the Saigon River in two separate canoes, toward the commercial port district. They pulled over in the Thủ Thiêm area.

Shortly after 18:30 as both men headed toward Warehouse Number 0 at the commercial port, a police patrol boat spotted them and gave chase. Náo ordered Hùng to throw away the hand grenade and both men would retreat toward the local village if their bombs were discovered by police. The police patrol stopped about 66 ft away from Náo's canoe, and the patrol boat commander questioned both men about their activities during that evening.

Náo claimed that he and Hùng intended to go to the other side of the river to buy new clothes at the market. To avoid delaying the operation, Náo bribed the patrol boat commander 1000 Vietnamese dong. When the patrol boat commander received the bribe, he gave both Náo and Hùng permission to move on but demanded another bribe when they return. When the commandos arrived at the sewer tunnel, they assembled the bomb device with each man carrying 88 lb of explosives through the tunnel.

When the commandos emerged from the tunnel, they swam toward the broadside of Card which anchored near the sewer opening. Náo and Hùng attached two bombs to the ship, with one near the bilge and one at the engine compartment, just above the waterline.

At 01:10, the bombs were completed and both commandos retreated to the sewer tunnel, boarded their canoes on the other side and rowed back to Thủ Thiêm. Again, the police patrol boat was waiting for Náo and Hùng to arrive, because the commander wanted another bribe. As Náo and Hùng approached the patrol boat, an explosion was heard and a bright light could be seen in the commercial port area. The South Vietnamese police patrol boat then started its engine and raced towards Card, instead of extracting another bribe.

Aftermath

For the VC commandos of the 65th Special Operations Group, the explosion on Card signalled a successful mission. By sunrise, Card had settled 48 feet into the river with its engine compartment completely flooded. Five American civilians who worked on the ship died as a result of the attack. Due to rapid response from the ship's crew and local authorities, flooding inside the ship was quickly stopped and it was stabilized. An inspection revealed that the explosion had torn a hole 12 feet long and 3 feet high, on the starboard side of the ship.

The US Navy refused to admit Card had been sunk even for a brief period of time, instead stating Card was damaged and quickly repaired.

For the remainder of 1964, the VC launched further attacks on US targets such as the Brinks Hotel and Bien Hoa Air Base, but there were no significant responses from the US military. Card returned to service on 11 December 1964 and remained in service until 1970, when it was placed in the Reserve Fleet.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_USNS_Card

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On This Day: Normans invade Ireland, many merging with native Gaels, now with common surnames - May 1, 1169
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May 1, 2024

On This Day: Normans invade Ireland, many merging with native Gaels, now with common surnames - May 1, 1169

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland

The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanctioned by the papal bull Laudabiliter. At the time, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms, with a High King claiming lordship over most of the other kings. The Anglo-Norman invasion was a watershed in Ireland's history, marking the beginning of more than 800 years of direct English and, later, British, conquest and colonialism in Ireland.

In May 1169, Anglo-Norman mercenaries landed in Ireland at the request of Diarmait mac Murchada (Dermot MacMurragh), the deposed King of Leinster, who sought their help in regaining his kingship. They achieved this within weeks and raided neighbouring kingdoms. This military intervention was sanctioned by King Henry II of England. In return, Diarmait had sworn loyalty to Henry and promised land to the Normans.

In 1170, there were further Norman landings, led by the Earl of Pembroke, Richard "Strongbow" de Clare. They seized the important Norse-Irish towns of Dublin and Waterford, and Strongbow married Diarmait's daughter Aoífe. Diarmait died in May 1171 and Strongbow claimed Leinster, which Diarmait had promised him. Led by High King Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Rory O'Conor), a coalition of most of the Irish kingdoms besieged Dublin, while Norman-held Waterford and Wexford were also attacked. However, the Normans managed to hold most of their territory.

In October 1171, King Henry landed with a large army to assert control over both the Anglo-Normans and the Irish. This intervention was supported by the Roman Catholic Church, who saw it as a means of ensuring Irish religious reform, and a source of taxes. At the time, Irish marriage laws conflicted with those of the broader Church, and the Gregorian Reform had not been fully implemented. Henry granted Strongbow Leinster as a fiefdom, declared the Norse-Irish towns to be crown land, and arranged the synod of Cashel to reform the Irish church. Many Irish kings also submitted to him, likely in the hope that he would curb Norman expansion, but Henry granted the unconquered kingdom of Meath to Hugh de Lacy. After Henry's departure in 1172, fighting between the Normans and Irish continued.

[Norman success]

The 1175 Treaty of Windsor acknowledged Henry as overlord of the conquered territory and Ruaidrí as overlord of the remainder of Ireland, with Ruaidrí also swearing fealty to Henry. The Treaty soon collapsed: Norman lords continued to invade Irish kingdoms and the Irish continued to attack the Normans. In 1177, Henry adopted a new policy. He declared his son John to be the "Lord of Ireland" (i.e. claiming the whole island) and authorised the Norman lords to conquer more land. The territory they held became the Lordship of Ireland, part of the Angevin Empire. The Normans' success has been attributed to military superiority and castle-building, the lack of a unified opposition from the Irish and the support of the church for Henry's intervention.

[Invasion of May 1, 1169]

On 1 May 1169, Robert FitzStephen and Maurice de Prendergast landed at Bannow Bay, on the south coast of County Wexford, with a force of at least 40 knights, 60 men-at-arms and 360 archers. This force merged with about 500 men led by Diarmait. They set about conquering Leinster and the territories Diarmait had claimed sovereignty over. First they besieged the Norse-Irish seaport of Wexford, which surrendered after two days. They then raided and plundered the territories of north Leinster, which had refused to submit to Diarmait. They also raided the neighbouring kingdom of Ossory, defeating the forces of king Donnchad Mac Gilla Patraic (Donagh MacGillapatrick) in the battle of Achad Úr. However, Donnchad withdrew his forces to safety. Prendergast then announced he was withdrawing from Ireland with his 200 men, but Diarmait would not let them set sail from Wexford. In response, Prendergast offered his men as mercenaries to Donnchad of Ossory, which Donnchad accepted. He used these mercenaries to temporarily subdue Loígis. However, Prendergast refused to fight his former companions, and he soon left Ireland with his men.

In response, High King Ruaidrí led an army into Leinster to confront Diarmait and the Normans. The army included contingents from Connacht, Breffny, Meath, and Dublin, each led by their respective kings. An agreement was reached at Ferns: Diarmait was acknowledged as king of Leinster, in return for acknowledging Ruaidrí as his overlord and agreeing to send his foreign allies away permanently. To ensure compliance, Diarmait agreed to give Ruaidrí hostages, one of whom was his son. However, Diarmait apparently sought to use his Anglo-Norman allies to make himself High King. Shortly after the Ferns agreement, Maurice FitzGerald landed at Wexford with at least 10 knights, 30 mounted archers and 100-foot archers. In a show of strength, Maurice and Diarmait marched an army north and laid waste to the hinterland of Dublin.

Normans in Ireland

Hiberno-Normans, or Norman Irish refer to Irish families descended from Norman settlers who arrived during the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, mainly from England and Wales. During the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages, the Hiberno-Normans constituted a feudal aristocracy and merchant oligarchy, known as the Lordship of Ireland. The Hiberno-Normans were also closely associated with the Gregorian Reform of the Catholic Church in Ireland and were responsible for the emergence of Hiberno-English.

[Burkes, Butlers, FitzGeralds, Walsh]

Some of the most prominent Hiberno-Norman families were the Burkes (de Burghs), Butlers, and FitzGeralds who over time were said to have become "more Irish than the Irish themselves" by merging culturally and intermarrying with the Gaels. One of the most common Irish surnames, Walsh, derives from Welsh Normans who arrived in Ireland as part of this group.

The dominance of the Hiberno-Normans declined during the 16th century after the Anglican "New English" elite settled in Ireland from the end of the Tudor period; and they came to be known as Seanghaill (Old English) at this time. Many Roman Catholic Norman-Irish families spread throughout the world as part of the Irish diaspora ceasing, in most cases, to identify as Norman, whether originally Anglo-Norman, Cambro-Norman, or Scoto-Norman. Other Old English families, like the Dillons, merged with the New English elite after the Henrician Reformation. Following the Glorious Revolution, many of these Old English families promoted unity with the Gaels under the denominator of "Irish Catholic", while others were assimilated into a new Irish Protestant identity, which also included later settler groups such as the Ulster Scots and Huguenots.

Normans in medieval Ireland

Traditionally, London-based Anglo-Norman governments expected the Normans in the Lordship of Ireland to promote the interests of the Kingdom of England, through the use of the English language (despite the fact that they spoke Norman French rather than English), law, trade, currency, social customs, and farming methods. The Norman community in Ireland was, however, never monolithic. In some areas, especially in the Pale around Dublin, and in relatively urbanised communities in Kilkenny, Limerick, Cork and south Wexford, people spoke the English language (though sometimes in arcane local dialects such as Yola and Fingallian), used English law, and in some respects lived in a manner similar to that found in England.

However, in the provinces, the Normans in Ireland (Irish: Gaill meaning "foreigners " ) were at times indistinguishable from the surrounding Gaelic lords and chieftains. Dynasties such as the Fitzgeralds, Butlers, Burkes, and Walls adopted the native language, legal system, and other customs such as fostering and intermarriage with the Gaelic Irish and the patronage of Irish poetry and music. Such people became regarded as "more Irish than the Irish themselves" as a result of this process (see also History of Ireland (1169–1536)). The most accurate name for the Gaelicised Anglo-Irish throughout the late medieval period was Hiberno-Norman, a name which captures the distinctive blended culture which this community created and within which it operated until the Tudor conquest. In an effort to halt the ongoing Gaelicisation of the Anglo-Irish community, the Irish Parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367, which among other things banned the use of the Irish language, the wearing of Irish clothes, as well as prohibiting the Gaelic Irish from living within walled towns.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Norman_invasion_of_Ireland
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normans_in_Ireland

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April 30, 2024

On This Day: French lose signature battle during invasion of Mexico, while US fights Civil War - Apr. 30, 1863

(edited from Wikipedia)
"
[French invasion of Mexico]

The second French intervention in Mexico, also known as the Second Franco-Mexican War (1861–1867), was a military invasion of the Republic of Mexico by the French Empire of Napoleon III, purportedly to force the collection of Mexican debts in conjunction with Great Britain and Spain.

Mexican conservatives supported the invasion, since they had been defeated by the liberal government of Benito Juárez in a three-year civil war. Defeated on the battlefield, conservatives sought the aid of France to effect regime change and establish a monarchy in Mexico, a plan that meshed with Napoleon III's plans to re-establish the presence of the French Empire in the Americas.

Although the French invasion displaced Juárez's Republican government from the Mexican capital and the monarchy of Archduke Maximilian was established, the Second Mexican Empire collapsed within a few years. Material aid from the United States, whose four-year civil war ended in 1865, invigorated the Republican fight against the regime of Maximilian, and the 1866 decision of Napoleon III to withdraw military support for Maximilian's regime accelerated the monarchy's collapse. Maximilian and two Mexican generals were executed by firing squad on 19 June 1867, ending this period of Mexican history.

The intervention came as a civil war, the Reform War, had just concluded, and the intervention allowed the Conservative opposition against the liberal social and economic reforms of President Juárez to take up their cause once again. The Mexican Catholic Church, Mexican conservatives, much of the upper-class and Mexican nobility, and some Native Mexican communities invited, welcomed and collaborated with the French empire's help to install Maximilian of Habsburg as Emperor of Mexico. The emperor himself, however proved to be of liberal inclination and continued some of the Juárez government's most notable liberal measures. Some liberal generals defected to the Empire, including the powerful, northern governor Santiago Vidaurri, who had fought on the side of Juárez during the Reform War.

[French army lands in Mexico]

The French army landed in 1861, aiming to rapidly take the capital of Mexico City, but Mexican republican forces defeated them in the Battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, Cinco de Mayo, delaying their taking the capital for a year. The French and Mexican Imperial Army captured much of Mexican territory, including major cities, but guerrilla warfare by supporters of the republic remained a significant factor and Juárez himself never left the national territory.

[French depart in 1867]

The intervention was increasingly using up troops and money at a time when the recent Prussian victory over Austria was inclining France to give greater military priority to European affairs. The liberals also never lost the official recognition of the United States of America in spite of their ongoing civil war, and following the defeat and surrender of the Confederate States of America in April 1865 the reunited country began providing materiel support to the republican forces. Invoking the Monroe Doctrine, the U.S. government asserted that it would not tolerate a lasting French presence on the continent. Facing defeats and mounting pressure both at home and abroad, the French army began to redeploy to Europe in 1866, and the French empire in Mexico collapsed in 1867.

[French Foreign legion fight-to-the-death legacy]

The Battle of Camarón which occurred over ten hours on 30 April 1863 between the Foreign Legion of the French Army and the Mexican Army, is regarded as a defining moment in the Foreign Legion's history.

A small infantry patrol, led by Captain Jean Danjou and Lieutenants Clément Maudet and Jean Vilain, numbering just 65 men was attacked and besieged by a force that may have eventually reached 3,000 Mexican infantry and cavalry, and was forced to make a defensive stand at the nearby Hacienda Camarón, in Camarón de Tejeda, Veracruz, Mexico.

The conduct of the Légionnaires who, overwhelmingly outnumbered, refused to surrender, killing and injuring hundreds of enemy troops before finally succumbing, led to a certain mystique, and the battle of Camarón became synonymous with bravery and a fight-to-the-death attitude.

[Memorials]

In 1892, a monument commemorating the battle was erected on the battlefield containing a plaque with the following inscription in French:

(English: "Here there were less than sixty opposed to a whole army. Its numbers crushed them. Life rather than courage abandoned these French soldiers on April 30, 1863. In their memory, the fatherland has erected this monument " )

The site of the battle can be visited at the village of Camarón de Tejeda, in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. This village was formerly known as El Camarón, and later as Adalberto Tejeda, Villa Tejeda or Camarón de Tejeda.

In the village is a monument erected by the Mexican government in 1964, honoring the Mexican soldiers who fought in the battle. There is also a memorial site and parade ground on the outskirts of the village. The memorial has a raised platform, which covers the resting place of the remains of French and Mexican soldiers disinterred in the 1960s. The surface of the platform has a plaque in Latin. Diligent search of the area has failed to locate the plaque with the oft-quoted 1892 French-language inscription referred to above.

Every year, on 30 April, the Mexican government holds annual ceremonies at the memorial site, with political speakers and a parade of various Mexican military units. The village holds a fiesta on the same day. The ceremonies are sometimes attended by representatives of the French military, and the site is also visited by retired veterans of the French Foreign Legion. It is also tradition that any Mexican soldiers passing by the area turn towards the monument and offer a salute.
"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_French_intervention_in_Mexico
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Camar%C3%B3n

---------------------------------------------------------

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