On This Date

1 January 1945 Losses are heavy as hundreds of aircraft attack Allied airfields in Belgium and the Netherlands in the Luftwaffe’s last major offensive of the war. 2 January 1908  The Royal Mint of Ottawa opens, later known as the Royal Canadian Mint, and the penny coin—95.5 per cent copper—is produced domestically. 3-4 January 1951 UN forces evacuate Seoul, Korea, as it is captured for the second time by North Korean forces. 4 January 1971 Troops are withdrawn from Montreal following the October Crisis. 5 January 1838 U.S. President Martin Van Buren orders Americans not to participate in the Canadian Rebellions of 1837-38. 6 January 2008 Corporal Éric Labbé and Warrant Officer Hani Massouh are killed in a vehicle rollover incident in the volatile Zhari district...

1 December 1959 Twelve countries sign the Antarctic Treaty, declaring the continent a scientific preserve and banning military activity. 2 December 1942 The first controlled self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is triggered at the University of Chicago, ushering in the atomic age. 3 December 1943 The 1st Special Service Force, the U.S.-Canadian commando unit known as The Devil’s Brigade, attacks Monte la Difensa, Italy, in an attempt to clear German positions. 4-6 December 1950 HMC ships Cayuga, Athabaskan and Sioux support the evacuation of the port of Nampo near Pyongyang, North Korea (see page TK). 5 December 1942 The Toronto RCAF Hurricanes defeat the Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 8-5 in the first non-civilian Grey Cup at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. 6 December 1989 Fou...

1 November 2009 After an Afghan soldier is wounded by an IED, Master Corporal Gilles-Remi Mikkelson faces enemy fire to provide first aid. He is awarded the Medal of Military Valour. 2 November 1951 One Canadian dies and 13 are wounded in a diversionary raid by the Chinese on Hill 187 in Korea. 3 November 1944 Japan begins launching 9,000 incendiary balloons to drift to the Pacific Coast of Canada and the United States. 4 November 1995 Canada launches its earth-observation satellite, Radarsat-1. 5 November 1957 Wing Commander J.G. Showler receives the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy for the advancement of aviation for his contribution to mapping the Arctic. 6 November 1990 CAF establishes a headquarters under Commodore Kenneth J. Summers in Manama, Bahrain, part of Canada’s cont...

1 October 1917 Lieutenant-Colonel Philip Bent of Halifax is killed while leading a successful counterattack to regain lost positions at Polygon Wood in Belgium. He receives a posthumous Victoria Cross. 2 October 1535 Jacques Cartier arrives at Hochelaga (now Montreal) on his second voyage to North America. 3 October 1914
 The Canadian Expeditionary Force’s first contingent of 30,000 sails from Quebec to join the war effort in Europe. 4 October 1944 HMCS Chebogue is torpedoed by U-1227 in mid-Atlantic and seven sailors die. The ship is towed 1,400 kilometres to Wales. 5 October 1970 British Trade Commissioner James Cross is kidnapped in Montreal by the Front de libération du Québec, beginning the October Crisis (see page TK). 6 October 1939
 Invading German and Sovi...

1 August 1957 Canada and the United States form the North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) to integrate air defences. 2 August 1990 Iraq invades Kuwait. Canada contributed 4,500 military personnel to the 1991 Gulf War. 3 August 1981 Egypt and Israel sign a peace treaty, the Sinai is returned to Egypt and a multinational force begins peacekeeping. 4 August 1943 Flying Officer A.A. Bishop of 423 Squadron, RCAF sinks U-489. His aircraft is downed during the attack, losing five crew members. 5 August 2010 Captain William Todd Fielding lands a Chinook helicopter struck by enemy fire in Afghanistan, then leads the evacuation of the burning aircraft. He is awarded the Medal of Military Valour. August 6, 1945 The first atomic bomb is dropped on the Japanese indus...