Burundi explosion at ammunitions depot kills civilians in Bujumbura - army
BBC →The army offered condolences to bereaved families and sympathy to the wounded, and urged Burundians to be calm and report any unexploded bombs.
HONG KONG MUNITIONS BLAST FATAL TO 26: Heroic Troops Remove Shells to Reduce Explosion Toll
![The Indianapolis times. (Indianapolis [Ind.]), August 15, 1931 — front page](/img/service:ndnp:in:batch_in_huxley_ver01:data:sn82015313:00383349357:1931081501:0553)
United Press HONG KONG, Aug. 15.—Heroism of troops who went into underground chambers where shells were stored beneath the site where ten tons of gunpowder had just exploded was believed today to have kept to twenty-six the toll of disaster at the Macao munitions dump. Several Portuguese officers were killed in the explosion. Sergeant Major Vidal was killed while he slept. A huge boulder crashed through the room of his home, smashing his bed to bits. His wife and son both were injured. The caretaker, his wife and five children at Flora Palace, which recently has been used as a kindergarten, were killed when the palace was demolished.
Original Newspaper Page
![The Indianapolis times. (Indianapolis [Ind.]), August 15, 1931 — front page](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:ndnp:in:batch_in_huxley_ver01:data:sn82015313:00383349357:1931081501:0553/full/full/0/default.jpg)
Enlarge → What Happened Next
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
The Empire of Japan's Kwantung Army invaded the Manchuria region of China on 18 September 1931, immediately following the Mukden incident, a false flag event staged by Japanese military personnel as a pretext to invade. At the war's end in February 1932, the Japanese established the puppet state of Manchukuo. With the invasion having attracted great international attention, the League of Nations was called upon to act.
Wikipedia →Consequences – Lytton Report
When the findings of the Report were announced before the General Assembly of the League of Nations, recognizing Chinese sovereignty over Manchuria and refusing to recognize Manchukuo, the Japanese delegation led by ambassador Yosuke Matsuoka walked out. Japan gave formal notice of its withdrawal from the League of Nations on March 27, 1933.
Wikipedia →Construction – Gin Drinkers Line
Construction lasted from 1936 to 1938. The Line was not a solid defensive line, but rather a series of defensive positions linked together by paths. Bunkers, concrete fortified machine gun posts, trenches, and artillery batteries were built along the line.
Wikipedia →