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On This Date: May 2012

MAY 1, 1961: 415 Maritime Patrol Squadron is formed at Summerside, P.E.I. The unit will fly the Argus anti-submarine/marine patrol aircraft. MAY 2, 1957: The Royal Canadian Air Force receives its first delivery of the Canadair CP-107. The Argus is the most advanced anti-submarine aircraft of the day.

Canadian airmen with French naval aviators in front of an Argus aircraft.

Canadian airmen with French naval aviators in front of an Argus aircraft.
PHOTO: CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM—20100087-048

MAY 1, 1961: 415 Maritime Patrol Squadron is formed at Summerside, P.E.I. The unit will fly the Argus anti-submarine/marine patrol aircraft.

MAY 2, 1957: The Royal Canadian Air Force receives its first delivery of the Canadair CP-107. The Argus is the most advanced anti-submarine aircraft of the day.

MAY 3, 1942: Dutch Jews are required by the Nazis to wear a Jewish star.

General H.D.G. Crerar

General H.D.G. Crerar
PHOTO: LEGION ARCHIVES

MAY 4, 1945: General H.D.G. Crerar orders all planned assaults to be called off as a German surrender is imminent.

Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes (left centre), GOC 1st Canadian Corps, accepts the surrender of German forces.

Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes (left centre), GOC 1st Canadian Corps, accepts the surrender of German forces.
PHOTO: ALEX M. STIRTON, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA138588

MAY 5, 1945: German General Johannes Blaskowitz formally surrenders his remaining 117,000 troops in the Netherlands to Canadian Lieutenant-General Charles Foulkes.

MAY 6, 1994: French President Francois Mitterrand and the Queen of England open the Chunnel Tunnel running between the two countries under the English Channel.

MAY 7, 1945: German forces surrender to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander.

The streets were ankle-deep in paper after VE-Day celebrations in Toronto.

The streets were ankle-deep in paper after VE-Day celebrations in Toronto.
PHOTO: NATIONAL FILM BOARD, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA114627

MAY 8, 1945: VE-Day.

MAY 9, 1955: West Germany joins the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

MAY 10, 1940: Churchill becomes British prime minister.

Bulldozer of an R.C.E. Field Park Company taking part in the breaking of the Gustav Line by 1st Canadian Corps.

Bulldozer of an R.C.E. Field Park Company taking part in the breaking of the Gustav Line by 1st Canadian Corps.
PHOTO: ALEX M. STIRTON, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA142069

May 11, 1944: Allied forces launch new offensive on the Gustav Line in Italy.

MAY 12, 1944: In Italy, the Allied offensive to breach the Gustav Line anchored on Monte Cassino in Italy commences with an assault across the Rapido-Gari River.

MAY 13, 1954: United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs legislation authorizing the U.S. to join Canada in building the St. Lawrence Seaway.

MAY 14, 1994: Jeanne Sauvé is sworn in as Governor General of Canada.

Prime Minister Robert Borden

Prime Minister Robert Borden
PHOTO: LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—C002083

MAY 15, 1917: Prime Minister Robert Borden returns to Canada following the imperial war conference in England.

Troops of PPCLI moving up to front.

Troops of PPCLI moving up to front.
PHOTO: BILL OLSON, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA171323

MAY 16, 1951: Chinese forces in Korea launch part 2 of spring offensive.

MAY 17, 1944: First Canadian Infantry Division faces sharp fighting against strong German delaying forces as it advances towards the Adolf Hitler Line in Italy.

MAY 18, 1944: Polish troops take Monte Cassino in Italy.

MAY 19, 1980: A cloud of ash rises 24 kilometres into the air following the eruption on May 18 of Mount St. Helens in Washington State.

MAY 20, 1941: German airborne forces invade the island of Crete in the Mediterranean.

MAY 21, 1991: A bomb hidden in a bouquet of flowers explodes and kills former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

MAY 22, 1942: Mexico announces it has declared war on Germany and Japan.

Canadians advance through the Hitler Line.

Canadians advance through the Hitler Line.
PHOTO: C.E. NYE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA144723

MAY 23, 1944: Canadian soldiers break through the Hitler Line in Italy.

Wartime recruiting poster.

Wartime recruiting poster.
ILLUSTRATION: CANADIAN WAR MUSEUM—19750539

MAY 24, 1943: U-boats begin a withdrawal from the North Atlantic.

MAY 25, 1982: Argentine missiles strike a container ship and the British destroyer HMS Coventry off the Falkland Islands. Two Argentine planes are shot down. Dozens of men are feared dead.

MAY 26, 1940: The evacuation of Dunkirk begins.

MAY 27, 1941: The German warship the Bismarck is sunk.

MAY 28, 1940: Belgian army surrenders to the Germans.

MAY 29, 1943: Royal Air Force bombers conduct a raid on Wuppertal, Germany. One of the targets is a large chemical factory.

MAY 30, 1942: Cologne, Germany, is hit by a massive Allied bombing raid.

MAY 31, 1942: Japanese launch a midget submarine attack on Sydney Harbour, Sydney, N.S.W.

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


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