Emperor Hirohito. [Wikimedia]
Emperor Hirohito of Japan gives final approval to commence hostilities with the United States.
2 December 1943
Members of the First Special Service Force begin climbing Mount la Difensa, Italy, in an attempt to clear German positions.
Canada signs the Ottawa Treaty, 3 December 1997. [Canadian Landmine Foundation]
The Ottawa Treaty, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, is signed by 122 countries. Its aim is to eliminate anti-personnel landmines around the world.
HMCS Prince Henry. [AirMuseum]
HMCS Prince Henry is commissioned as an armed merchant cruiser.
Squadron Leader Andy Mackenzie and his fighter jet. [DND/PL62534]
Squadron Leader A.R. Mackenzie is shot down in a friendly fire incident over Korea. He survives and becomes a prisoner of war.
[Nova Scotia Archives/N-138]
Norwegian vessel SS Imo collides with French cargo ship SS Mont-Blanc, setting off an explosion that destroys much of Halifax and results in some 2,000 deaths and 9,000 injuries.
7 December 1941
HMCS Windflower sinks after a collision with a Dutch freighter off the coast of Newfoundland. Twenty-three of her crew are killed.
8 December 1941
The United States and United Kingdom declare war on Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
9 December 1755
Canada’s first post office opens in Halifax in an attempt to improve military communications between Britain and North America.
10 December 1939
The first convoy of Canadian troops sails for Britain from Halifax.
Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson on their Mediterranean holiday, 1936. [National Media Museum/ Daily Herald Archive]
Edward VIII abdicates the British throne to marry American socialite Wallis Simpson, making his reign one of the shortest in British history.
12 December 1942
Hitler launches Operation Winter Storm in an attempt to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad.
13 December 1813
Lieutenant-General Gordon Drummond is appointed Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. He is the first Canadian-born general officer in British service.
14 December 1967
Wing Commander R.A. White sets a Canadian altitude record of 100,110 feet, flying a CF-104 Starfighter.
15 December 1948
The RCAF Survival Training School is formed in Fort Nelson, B.C. and Cambridge Bay, N.W.T.
HMCS Calgary (K231). [Canadian Navy Heritage website – MC-2161/Ken Macpherson / Naval Museum of Alberta]
HMCS Calgary is commissioned in Sorel, Que.
17 December 1944
HMCS Montreal rescues survivors of U-1209 after the U-boat runs aground on Wolf Rock in the English Channel.
French soldiers coming out of their trenches in Verdun. [Wikimedia]
The costly Battle of Verdun comes to an end.
19 December 1813
The British are victorious in a night assault aimed at capturing Fort Niagara.
20 December 1915
The Newfoundland Regiment is evacuated from Sulva Bay, Gallipoli.
Platoon Commander Lieutenant I. Macdonald (with binoculars) ready to give order to attack at S. Leonardo di Ortona, Italy, 10 December 1943. Left to right, Sergeant J.T. Cooney, Privates A.R. Downie, O.E. Bernier, G.R. Young (kneeling, with Lee-Enfield rifle), Corporal T. Fereday and Private S.L. Hart (lying down with Bren gun) all of the 48th Highlanders. [LAC]
Canadians engage in vicious house-to-house fighting in Ortona, Italy.
22 December 1950
HMCS Athabaskan is temporarily relieved of duty in Korea for repairs and general maintenance.
Jeanne Sauvé, Governor General of Canada, with her husband Maurice Sauvé in Ottawa 1984. [Wikimedia/ProACGuy1]
Jeanne Sauvé is appointed Canada’s first female governor general.
Eisenhower as General of the Army, 1945. [Wikimedia/Signal Corps – US Army]
United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower is appointed Supreme Allied Commander.
Christmas dinner is enjoyed at Ortona, Italy, 1943. [LIEUT. TERRY F. ROWE, LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA—PA152839]
The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada are temporarily relieved of duty on the front line to enjoy a hot Christmas dinner.
26 December 1943
Canadian destroyers help protect a convoy stalked by the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst.
27 December 1944
U-877 is sunk in the North Atlantic by HMCS St. Thomas, which rescues the sub’s entire crew.
28 December 1945
Major-General Kurt Meyer is found guilty of war crimes at a Canadian military court in Germany for the massacre at Abbaye d’Ardenne.
Rt. Hon. W. Lyon Mackenzie King [PHOTO: LEGION MAGAZINE ARCHIVES]
29 December 1921
William Lyon Mackenzie King is sworn in as Canada’s 10th prime minister.
30 December 1813
The British drive off the Americans during the Battle of Buffalo.
31 December 1857
Queen Victoria selects Ottawa as the permanent capital of the Province of Canada.
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