Today in 1918, a division of new Connecticut recruits encountered their first taste of modern warfare in a small village in northeastern France. In that battle, they repelled a regiment of elite German troops and held the front lines against overwhelming odds. The US 26th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Yankee Division because its regiments…
Tag: wwi
April 7: Thousands Rally to Show Support for WWI
Today in 1917, citizens of Hartford thronged the streets in a “mass patriotic meeting” to show support for America’s formal entry into World War I. The Great War had been raging in Europe for three years, but the United States had been extremely reluctant to join the fight against the Germans. American resistance to…
April 2: The Deadly Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919 Hits Connecticut
Today in 1919, the medical paper “Complications of Influenza” was read to a desperately worried Hartford County Medical Society, which feared a renewed outbreak of a devastating global flu pandemic that had first reared its ugly head in Connecticut nearly 12 months before. This strain of flu – commonly called “Spanish influenza” though it…
November 11: Member of the Famed Yankee Division the Last Connectican to Die in World War I
In many countries around the world, November 11 is Armistice Day, named in honor of the truce, enacted on November 11, 1918, that marked the end of hostilities on the Western Front between German and Allied forces. While a lasting peace was not formally established until the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919,…
October 27: The Doughboys of the Yankee Division Honor One of Their Own
Born in 1898 to Irish immigrants living in New Haven, Timothy Francis Ahearn was still a teenager when he enlisted in the 102d Infantry Division — famously known as the Yankee Division owing to the New England origins of most of its men — and was deployed overseas to fight the Germans during World…
June 19: Connecticut Troops Sent to Guard the Mexican Border
In June 1916, while the horrors of the Great War in Europe remained an ocean away, President Woodrow Wilson confronted a more immediate threat along the United States’ border with Mexico. Earlier that year, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa had led a deadly raid into New Mexico that left an American town destroyed. In response,…
June 5: Mandatory “Registration Day” for Service in the Great War.
The United States’ entry into World War I on April 6, 1917 marked the end of a long period of military non-intervention, resulting in a scramble to recruit men to fill the ranks of America’s army and navy to fight the enemy in Europe. After a national volunteer recruitment drive only attracted a fraction…
April 20: Green Connecticut Troops Fight Germany’s Best at WWI Battle of Seicheprey
Today in 1918, a division of new Connecticut recruits encountered their first taste of modern warfare in a small village in northeastern France. In that battle, they repelled a regiment of elite German troops and held the front lines against overwhelming odds. The US 26th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Yankee Division because its regiments…
November 11: The Last Connectican to Die in World War I
In many countries around the world, November 11 is known as Armistice Day in honor of the truce that marked the end of hostilities on the Western Front between German and Allied forces, enacted on November 11, 1918. While a lasting peace was not formally established until the Treaty of Versailles was signed in…
October 27: The Doughboys of the Yankee Division Honor One of Their Own
Born in 1898 to Irish immigrants living in New Haven, Timothy Francis Ahearn was still a teenager when he enlisted in the 102d Infantry Division — famously known as the Yankee Division owing to the New England origins of most of its men — and was deployed overseas to fight the Germans during World…
June 19: Connecticut Troops Patrol the Mexican Border
In June 1916, while the horrors of the Great War in Europe remained an ocean away, President Woodrow Wilson anticipated a more immediate threat along the United States’ border with Mexico. Earlier that year, Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa had led a deadly raid into New Mexico that left an American town destroyed. After months…
June 5: Mandatory “Registration Day” for the Great War.
The United States’ entry into World War I on April 6, 1917 marked the end of a long period of military non-intervention, resulting in a scramble to recruit men to fill the ranks of America’s army and navy before engaging the enemy in Europe. After a national volunteer recruitment drive only attracted a fraction…