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What was the Halifax Explosion (1917)?

Introduction The Halifax Explosion was a disaster that occurred in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, on the morning of 06 December 1917. SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship laden with high explosives, collided with the Norwegian vessel SS Imo in the Narrows, a strait connecting the upper Halifax Harbour to Bedford Basin. A fire on board… Read More

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What was the Sykes-Picot Agreement (1916)?

Introduction The Sykes-Picot Agreement was a 1916 secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire. The agreement was based on the premise that the Triple Entente… Read More

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What was the USS Birmingham (1908-1923)?

Introduction USS Birmingham (CS-2/CL-2), named for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, was a Chester-class scout cruiser, reclassified a light cruiser in 1920. Entering service in 1908, the ship became known for the first airplane takeoff from a ship in history in 1910. During World War I, Birmingham escorted convoys across the Atlantic. The cruiser was… Read More

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What was the Compiegne Wagon?

Introduction The Compiègne Wagon was the train carriage in which both the Armistice of 11 November 1918 and Armistice of 22 June 1940 were signed. Before the 1918 signing in the Forest of Compiègne, the wagon served as the personal carriage of Ferdinand Foch and was later displayed in French museums. However, after the successful… Read More

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What was the Battle of Cocos (1914)?

Introduction The Battle of Cocos was a single-ship action that occurred on 9 November 1914, after the Australian light cruiser HMAS Sydney (under the command of John Glossop) responded to an attack on a communications station at Direction Island by the German light cruiser SMS Emden (commanded by Karl von Müller). After the retreat of… Read More

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What was the German Revolution (1918-1919)?

Introduction The German Revolution or November Revolution (German: Novemberrevolution) was a civil conflict in the German Empire at the end of the First World War that resulted in the replacement of the German federal constitutional monarchy with a democratic parliamentary republic that later became known as the Weimar Republic. The revolutionary period lasted from November… Read More