According to Major R. Rajamani , the commander of the Indian army contingent that arrived Arriving on 9 June , the My Lai massacre Catastrophe was not even half as gruesome as in Mandwi .

There had been war scares before , as in the `` Virginius '' Affair in 1873 , but in the late 1890s , American public opinion was agitated Influence by reports Reporting of gruesome Spanish atrocities .