JANUARY 1, 1916
Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden announces plan to increase the Canadian Expeditionary Force to 500,000 men.

JANUARY 2, 1942
Cabinet approves a $1-billion gift of war supplies from Canada to Britain.

JANUARY 3-4, 1951
In Korea, United Nations forces evacuate Seoul as it is captured for the second time by North Korean forces.

JANUARY 5, 1945
Flying Officer Norman Pearce of Portage la Prairie, Man., destroys six enemy vehicles while serving with No. 73 Squadron.

JANUARY 6, 1900
In South Africa, Boer forces attack the fortress at Ladysmith, but are driven back by British defenders.

JANUARY 7, 1941
A supplementary agreement to the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan is signed between Canada and Great Britain, stating that 25 RCAF squadrons will be formed in the United Kingdom.

JANUARY 8, 1916
Allies complete the withdrawal of troops from Gallipoli.

JANUARY 9, 1889
The Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge dislodges during a storm and collapses into the river.

JANUARY 10, 1862
During a period of Anglo-American tension, the Victoria Rifles of Canada is organized as the 3rd Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles.

JANUARY 11, 1815
Sir John A. Macdonald is born.

JANUARY 12, 1944
In Italy, Allied troops launch their first attack on the German-held Gustav Line and positions on Monte Cassino.

JANUARY 13, 1947
Britain’s Privy Council rules that Canada is within its rights to pass legislation making the Supreme Court the final court of appeal.

JANUARY 14, 1942
The coastal region of British Columbia is defined as a “protected area.” A curfew is imposed for every person of Japanese origin. The government later forcefully removes Japanese men from the protected area.

JANUARY 15, 2006
A Canadian diplomat is killed and three Canadian soldiers are injured after a suicide bomber strikes a military convoy near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

JANUARY 16, 1920
In Paris, the League of Nations Council meets for the first time.

JANUARY 17, 1888
Big Bear dies on Poundmaker Reserve following his release from prison the previous year.

JANUARY 18, 1915
The Canadian Expeditionary Force is reconstructed, as infantry battalions are each converted from eight companies to four double companies.

JANUARY 19, 1942
The Canadian passenger ship Lady Hawkins is torpedoed as U-boats ravage unprotected shipping along the Atlantic coast.

JANUARY 20, 2004
Nearly 2,000 Canadian troops from CFB Valcartier, Que., head to Afghanistan to replace the Royal Canadian Regiment.

JANUARY 21, 1944
His Majesty’s Canadian Ship New Waterford is commissioned.

JANUARY 22, 1944
Allies establish Anzio beachhead south of Rome. Canadian forces, meanwhile, face bitter opposition along the Adriatic coast.

JANUARY 23, 1945
German Admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal, a naval operation to evacuate German troops and civilians.

JANUARY 24, 1932
His Majesty’s Canadian ships Skeena and Vancouver land armed parties at Acajutla, El Salvador, to protect British nationals.

JANUARY 25, 1945
The Battle of the Bulge ends.

JANUARY 26, 1980
Prime Minister Joe Clark vows Canada will boycott Summer Olympics in Moscow if Soviet troops are not out of Afghanistan by Feb. 20.

JANUARY 27, 1945
The concentration extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau is liberated. The liberation is now commemorated annually as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

JANUARY 28, 1914
Nellie McClung and other suffragettes hold a mock parliament in Winnipeg to rally public support for women’s suffrage.

JANUARY 29, 1856
Queen Victoria issues a warrant that establishes the Victoria Cross.

JANUARY 30, 1991
At the Battle of Bubiyan, a CF-18 Hornet attacks and causes irreparable damage to an Iraqi warship.

JANUARY 31, 1862
The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada is organized as the 5th Battalion, Volunteer Militia Rifles.

February On This Date Events

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FEBRUARY 22, 1951
2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry sustains the battalion’s first battle casualties during an attack on Hill 444. Four men die, one is wounded.