Western Front
Kaiserschlacht: Unternehmung Georgette, known in the west as
Battles of the Lys or the
German Lys Offensive:
Flanders: German gas bombardment of Kemmne-Ypres with 9 million rounds (2,000t) mustard gas, phosgene and diphenylchlorarsine fired (until April 25) at BEF; 8,470 gassed (43 deaths). North-east of Ypres German minor attempt fails.
(Listed for yesterday): William Hope Hodgson, English author known for works like the “Sargasso Sea Stories, “The House on the Borderland” and “The Night Land,” is killed in action at Ypres:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...967769005613057
Somme: Skirmishes go in favor of British (until April 22).
Richthofen’s 80th (and last) victory, a Sopwith Camel northeast of Villers-Brelonneux.
Meuse: Germans gain ground at Seicheprey (Woevre) against Franco-Americans, who counter-attack successfully on April 21.
German troops capture Seicheprey, France from American soldiers, but they retake the town after hand-to-hand fighting:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...269777893871616
Artois: Pershing visits Canadian Corps.
German shells falling on the village of Rambucourt, France:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...300021828816896
Eastern Front
Finish Civil War: Details of intentions of Finnish "White Party" are published in Stockholm.
Carl Mannerheim attacks towards Viborg with 24,000 men and 40 guns (until April 29).
The Finnish Commander-in-Chief Carl Gustav Mannerheim:
https://i2.wp.com/ww2-weapons.com/w...m-1WK.jpg?ssl=1
Naval and Overseas Operations
British and German destroyers in contact in Heligoland Bight. One German destroyer damaged.
Political, etc
United Kingdom: Lord Derby, Secretary of State for War, Great Britain, resigns to become ambassador to France: Viscount Milner appointed Secretary of State for War, Great Britain (see 18th).
First National Emergency Proclamation, withdrawing exemptions up to 23.75 years, issued.
Canada: 20-22 year-old men called up.
United States: “Sabotage Act”, a codification of the Alien Enemies Act. It was used by the government to identify and imprison “dangerous” enemy aliens from Germany; more commonly used to suppress German-language publications in the US, and to prosecute those who spoke out against the US participation in the war. (Also, used later in World War II to persecute ethnic German, Japanese, and to a lesser extent, Italian descendant American citizens.
President Woodrow Wilson, while riding a British tank in front of the White House, accidentally burns himself when he grabbed on to a hot exhaust pipe:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...998102686162947
Karl Fredinand Braun, German physicist and Nobel laureate who invented the cathode-ray tube, passed away in Brooklyn, New York:
https://twitter.com/CenturyAgoToday...330309199925248