2 February 1943
The German army surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, Russia, a pivotal turning point in the Second World War.
Credit: Bain News Service
4 February 1915
Lieut. William Frederick Nelson Sharpe’s plane crashes during a Royal Flying Corps training exercise in England. He is the first Canadian military aviator to die during the Great War.
5 February 1963
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker’s minority government is defeated in the House of Commons over its nuclear weapons policy. Liberal Lester B. Pearson is elected prime minister in April.
Credit: Legion Magazine Archive
6 February 1813
Taking advantage of the frozen St. Lawrence River, U.S. army Maj. Benjamin Forsyth and his company cross into Canada to attack Brockville.
8 February 1980
Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons begin to deliver personnel and equipment to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, to help monitor the country’s election process.
10 February 1763
The Treaty of Paris is signed by Britain, France and Spain, formally ending the Seven Years’ War. France cedes its North American territories to Great Britain in the agreement.
12 February 1946
The last U-boat is scuttled in Operation Deadlight, the Royal Navy’s action to eliminate German submarines captured during WW II.
13 February 1874
Louis Riel is re-elected as member of Parliament for Provencher in Manitoba. He is expelled from the House of Commons in April.
16 February 1940
The Royal Canadian Air Force’s 110 (Army Cooperation) Squadron begins its journey to Britain. It is the first of 48 squadrons to move overseas during WW II.
17 February 2011
Sgt. Joseph Poulin positions his tank to protect civilians, comrades and Afghan security forces during a road construction project in Afghanistan. This is the second of three actions that earned Poulin a Medal of Military Valour.
18 February 1900
The Battle of Paardeberg begins as Canadians attack a Boer army on the banks of the Modder River in South Africa.
Credit: LAC/2993542
21 February 1916
The Battle of Verdun starts on the Western Front, one of the longest and bloodiest battles in modern history.
Credit: Lebrecht Music & Arts/Alamy/ERGHA3
24 February 1942
Prime Minister Mackenzie King uses the War Measures Act to dispossess, forcibly relocate and detain people of Japanese ancestry.
28 February 1838
Robert Nelson gathers roughly 300 Patriotes, mainly francophone members of the Parti canadien, in Vermont to invade Lower Canada, in the hopes of freeing it from British rule. His force is immediately pushed back into the U.S.
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