OCTOBER 1, 1813: Canadian militiamen engage American forces who have crossed the frontier south of Montreal.

OCTOBER 2, 1952: His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Iroquois is hit by artillery fire from North Korean shore batteries. Three sailors die, 10 are wounded.

OCTOBER 3, 1944: The Polish Home Army surrenders to German forces after a 63-day struggle.

OCTOBER 4, 1957: The Soviet satellite Sputnik is launched. It is the first man-made object to reach outer space.

OCTOBER 5, 1939: Major-General A.G.L. McNaughton is appointed head of 1st Canadian Division.

OCTOBER 6, 1981: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated.

OCTOBER 7, 1999: Adrienne Clarkson becomes Governor General.

OCTOBER 8, 2001: A navy task group will be Canada’s immediate contribution to the war on terror. Within days, Canadian warships are en route to the Arabian Sea as part of Operation Apollo.

OCTOBER 9, 1967: Reports from Bolivia state that Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara has been killed.

OCTOBER 10, 1970: Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte is kidnapped and later murdered.

OCTOBER 11-12, 1899: The South African War between Great Britain and the Boers of Transvaal and Orange Free State begins. On the 12^th, the Canadian government announces its decision to spend $600,000 to equip and aid the passage of a volunteer Canadian regiment to fight under its own commanders as part of the British Army.

OCTOBER 13, 1812: The Battle of Queenston Heights and the death of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. Total British losses are 105 killed and wounded. At least 300 Americans die or are wounded.

OCTOBER 14, 1914: The First Canadian Contingent begins to disembark after arriving at Plymouth, England.

OCTOBER 15, 1964: Nikita Khrushchev steps down as Soviet leader.

OCTOBER 16, 1944: His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Annan and HMCS Loch Achanalt are patrolling as part of Escort Group 6 in the Atlantic when they pick up a radar contact from a surfaced U-boat. The two frigates open fire and several crew on Annan are wounded by return fire. Annan sinks U-1006 with depth charges. Forty-six German submariners are rescued.

OCTOBER 17, 1952: In Korea, Canadian forces are involved in fierce combat on the saddle and on Hill 355. Suffering an extremely heavy bombardment, Canadian soldiers manage to hold on to the hill in the days ahead. It would be the scene of much fighting during the war.

OCTOBER 18, 1967: A Soviet space probe gets a look beneath the clouds of Venus.

OCTOBER 19, 1987: Stock markets around the world plunge as the day is dubbed Black Monday.

OCTOBER 20, 1967: A massive protest against conscription in the Vietnam War hits the streets of Oakland, Calif.

OCTOBER 21-24, 1944: First Canadian Corps assaults across the swollen Savio River to divert German attention from a larger American and British attack near Bologna, Italy.  On the night of Oct. 21-22, Private Ernest (Smokey) Smith earns the Victoria Cross by single-handedly destroying a German counterattack with a hand-held anti-tank weapon and a Tommy gun.

OCTOBER 25-26, 1813: Smaller British forces led by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Michel de Salaberry defeat American troops at Chateauguay near Ormstown, Que.

OCTOBER 27, 1918: Canadian fighter pilot William Barker is involved in air combat with a much superior enemy force. During the dogfights, he is seriously wounded, but manages to shoot down a number of enemy aircraft before crash landing near Allied lines. He is awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.

OCTOBER 28, 1962: The Cuban missile crisis comes to an end.

OCTOBER 29, 1899: The first contingent of volunteer troops departs from Quebec for the “splendid little war” in South Africa.

OCTOBER 30, 1971: Canada’s 437 Squadron flies Red Cross emergency supplies to Pakistan.

OCTOBER 31, 1984: India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated.

For ON THIS DATE November Events, come back to legionmagazine.com on November 1st, 2012