Major Frederick Tilston, VC

PHOTO: LEGION MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

MARCH 1, 1945
Despite serious leg wounds, Major Frederick Tilston braves heavy enemy fire in the Hochwald Forest, Germany, to deliver ammunition and organize defence of a captured headquarters. He is awarded the Victoria Cross.

Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze

PHOTO: MCPL LAURIE-ANN WHITE, CANADIAN FORCES IMAGERY GALLERY

MARCH 2, 2008
Trooper Michael Yuki Hayakaze is killed by an improvised explosive device; more than 3,000 soldiers and civilians later gather in Afghanistan to pay their final respects.

MARCH 3, 1838
A small force led by Captain George Browne intercepts and repulses American invaders near Pelee Island, Ont.

MARCH 4, 1814
In the Battle of the Longwoods, American soldiers repel a British attack near Wardsville , Ont., before retreating to Detroit.

MARCH 5, 1910
An avalanche in the Rogers Pass of British Columbia buries a Canadian Pacific Railway crew of 62; one man survives.

MARCH 6, 1944
Five Canadian and two British warships participate in the sinking U-744.

MARCH 7, 1866
In anticipation of a St. Patrick’s Day attack by the Fenian Brotherhood, John A. Macdonald puts 10,000 volunteer militia on alert.

United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda.

PHOTO: UN MULTIMEDIA—107632

MARCH 8, 1996
The 2½-year United Nations peacekeeping mission in Rwanda officially ends, in failure. Between April and June 1994, 800,000 are killed in the genocide.

Terry Fox

PHOTO: LEGION MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

MARCH 9, 1977
A malignant tumour is discovered in Terry Fox’s right leg. The leg is amputated, but he carries on and raises more than $24 million in his Marathon of Hope.

MARCH 10, 1915
The Battle of Neuve Chapelle begins with a tremendous artillery barrage that knocks a 1,600-metre breach in the German line.

MARCH 11, 1918
The first case of Spanish influenza is diagnosed in Kansas; soldiers carry it to the front in Europe, and soldiers heading home from the First World War spread it across the globe.

Canadian UNFICYP soldiers on patrol in Kyrenia.

PHOTO: UN MULTIMEDIA—52053

MARCH 12, 1964
Canada commits peacekeepers to the United Nations mission in Cyprus; more than 25,000 personnel serve there over the next 29 years.

MARCH 13, 1971
Paul Rose is sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the kidnapping and murder of Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte during the FLQ Crisis.

MARCH 14, 1918
Troop movements and more evidence indicates the Germans are planning a major offensive along the front.

MARCH 15, 1951
Seoul is liberated by the 1st Republic of Korea (ROK) Division.

MARCH 16, 1900
Lord Strathcona’s Horse gathers in Halifax, with 28 officers, 512 troops, 599 horses and munitions headed for the Boer War in South Africa.

Burning American Sloops at Black Rock.

ILLUSTRATION: PETER RINDLISBACHER

MARCH 17-18, 1813
The British at Fort Erie near Waterloo, Ont., begin an artillery duel, firing across the Niagara River on Black Rock, N.Y.

MARCH 19, 1923
Lieutenant Eustace Brock of the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve is responsible for raising naval reservists in Winnipeg.

MARCH 20-21, 2003
Missiles and bombs rain on Baghdad, Iraq, in an attack by a U.S.-led coalition.

MARCH 22, 1916
After serving in Egypt and in the Dardanelles campaign against Turkey, the Newfoundland Regiment is moved to France, where it will participate in the Battle of the Somme.

Adolf Hitler

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA164749

MARCH 23, 1933
The Reichstag passes legislation establishing Hitler’s dictatorship.

MARCH 24-25, 1945
The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion drops behind enemy lines in Germany as part of Operation Varsity.

MARCH 26, 1885
The Battle of Duck Lake—the first battle the 1885 Northwest Rebellion—is fought. The Métis inflict several casualties on a Canadian force of North West Mounted Police and settlers. Métis casualties are five or six dead, three wounded.

Alan Arnett McLeod, VC

PHOTO: LEGION MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

MARCH 27, 1918
Overmatched, wounded several times in a dogfight, Alan Arnett McLeod side-slips his burning aircraft to a crash landing in no man’s land. He is awarded the Victoria Cross.

MARCH 28, 1969
Ten thousand protesters march on McGill University in Montreal, demanding that the institution become unilingual French and pro-worker.

MARCH 29, 1973
The last American troops leave South Vietnam.

MARCH 30, 1918
Yelling “It’s a charge, boys!” Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew leads an aggressive cavalry charge in the Battle of Moreuil Wood, France.

MARCH 31, 1949
Newfoundland becomes Canada’s 10th province.

April On This Date Events

See the March/April 2014 issue of Legion Magazine.
Here’s a taste of what you’ll find.

Happy Canadians who captured Vimy Ridge returning to rest billets on motor lorries.

PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA001353

April 9, 1917
Fighting together for the first time, the four divisions of the Canadian Corps overcome formidable German defences and capture most of Vimy Ridge.