14/12/1918 Portugal’s President assassinated

Portugal joined the Allies in 1916 but the country played a relatively minor part in the war against Germany. In Africa Portuguese troops assisted in the containment Lettow-Vorbeck while a small contingent of Portuguese troops went to the Western Front, where they were mangled by the second of Ludendorff‘s offensives earlier this year.

At home Portuguese politics has become increasingly unruly. Sidónio Pais has promoted himself from prime minister to president and has been ruling in an increasingly authoritarian manner. However he faces many opponents and the country is now wracked with unrest.

Pais survived an assassination attempt earlier this month but today he is not so lucky. When he arrives in a Lisbon train station, on his way to the north of the country, leftist agitator José Júlio da Costa is waiting. After penetrating the security cordon, Da Costa produces a hidden pistol and fires two bullets into…