JULY 1, 1916: Opening day of the Battle of the Somme. The Newfoundland Regiment is decimated at Beaumont Hamel, but would survive to fight another day.
JULY 2, 1940: His Majesty’s Canadian Ship St. Laurent rescues 860 from the torpedoed passenger liner Arandora Star.
JULY 3, 1944: A German convoy off St. Malo, France, is attacked by four Canadian Motor Torpedo Boats of the 65th Flotilla. Two merchant ships and a minesweeper are hit.
JULY 4, 1944: Enemy mortars and machine-gun fire ravage Canadian troops advancing toward Carpiquet airfield in Normandy.
JULY 5-6, 1944: As part of Escort Group 12, His Majesty’s Canadian Ships Qu’Appelle, Restigouche, Saskatchewan and Skeena open fire on a U-boat and its escort near Brest. Heavily armed German trawlers return fire, but three are sunk. The U-boat escapes. Qu’Appelle is damaged and her captain is wounded.
JULY 7, 2005: Explosions in the London underground subway system leave dozens dead and many more seriously injured. The attacks are carried out by four suicide bombers. In a subsequent videotaped statement, al-Qaida claims responsibility.
JULY 8, 1971: Rioting erupts in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. British troops open fire; two men are killed.
JULY 9, 1982: An unemployed father of two breaks into Buckingham Palace and spends several minutes talking to the Queen before being arrested.
JULY 10, 1943: Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, begins.
JULY 11, 1979: Small pieces of Skylab I are found scattered across Western Australia. Chunks of the U.S. space laboratory also land in the southern Indian Ocean. The unoccupied lab was launched in 1973.
JULY 12, 1972: No. 406 Squadron, equipped with Sea Kings and Trackers, is formed at Canadian Forces Base Shearwater, N.S.
JULY 13, 1906: C.K. Hamilton completes the first powered and directed flight in Canada at Montreal in a dirigible.
JULY 14, 1915: First aircraft built on a Canadian production line has its maiden flight at Toronto.
JULY 15-16, 1900: A Squadron of the Canadian Mounted Rifles and B Squadron of the Royal Canadian Dragoons participate in a major battle at Wittpoort Pass against the Boers.
JULY 17, 1976: Opening ceremonies held for the Olympic Games in Montreal.
JULY 18-20, 1944: Second and Third Canadian divisions participate in Operation Atlantic south of Caen, France. Atlantic is the Canadian phase of Operation Goodwood, a British attack designed to break out of the Orne bridgehead.
JULY 21-22, 1943: First Canadian Infantry Div. continues to encounter stiff German resistance north of the Dittaino River. The Loyal Edmonton Regiment manages to infiltrate the hilltop town of Leonforte, and fight off counterattacks long enough for engineers to repair a bridge. The Hastings and Prince Edward Regt. scales the cliffs behind the town of Assoro, taking defenders by surprise.
JULY 23, 1917: Canadian troops participate in a successful raid through the Méricourt trench against enemy dugouts and trench mortar emplacements.
JULY 24-25, 1944: Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery launches Operation Spring, the first phase of a general southward drive from Caen to Falaise, France.
JULY 26, 1936: King Edward VIII unveils the Vimy Ridge Memorial in France.
JULY 27, 1953: The Korean Armistice Agreement is signed at Panmunjom, Korea. The three-year war involved more than 26,000 Canadian Forces personnel, of which more than 500 were killed.
JULY 28, 1943: Canadian forces defeat the enemy at Agira, Sicily.
JULY 29, 1984: The 23rd Olympic Games are underway in Los Angeles following opening ceremonies on the 28th.
JULY 30, 1974: The prime ministers of Greece and Turkey sign a peace deal for Cyprus.
JULY 31, 1942: The Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service is founded. It will eventually reach a wartime strength of 6,500 all ranks.
For ON THIS DATE August Events, come back to legionmagazine.com on August 1st, 2012
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