2 March 2011
HMCS Charlottetown heads for Libya to evacuate Canadian citizens and provide humanitarian assistance.
6 March 1945
Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of the Second World War, begins.
7 March 1866
In anticipation of a St. Patrick’s Day attack by the Fenian Brotherhood, Canada West’s Minister of Militia and Defence John A. Macdonald puts 10,000 volunteer militia on alert.
11 March 1918
One of the first cases of Spanish influenza is diagnosed in Kansas. A deadly pandemic ensues, spreading across North America, to the front lines in Europe and around the world.
12 March 2014
Canada’s military mission in Afghanistan ends.
Credit: Xinhua/Alamy/DX5X62
13 March 1928
Eileen Vollick becomes Canada’s first licensed female pilot.
Credit: rcaffoundation.ca
13 March 1949
Newfoundland joins Confederation, becoming Canada’s 10th province.
Credit: Royal Canadian Mint
17 March 1900
Lord Strathcona’s Horse leaves Halifax for the Boer War in South Africa with 28 officers, 512 troops, 599 horses and munitions.
18 March 1944
Mount Vesuvius begins to erupt in Italy as the Allies’ Italian Campaign wages on.
19 March 1885
The North-West Resistance begins, with Louis Riel named president of the Métis provisional government and Gabriel Dumont its military commander.
20 March 1944
Harry Crerar is named commander-in-chief of First Canadian Army, replacing General Andrew McNaughton.
21 March 1955
The Canadian government announces construction of the Distant Early Warning Line radar system across the North and Alaska to detect a potential Soviet attack.
Credit: Wikimedia
23 March 2002
HMCS Algonquin joins the Canadian Naval Task Group, part of a multinational anti-terrorism campaign in the Persian Gulf.
27 March 1756
In the Battle of Fort Bull during the Seven Years’ War, French forces, Canadian militia and Indigenous allies take British-held Fort Bull, N.Y.
30 March 1918
The Canadian Cavalry Brigade forces the withdrawal of German troops from Moreuil Wood, France. Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew earns a posthumous Victoria Cross for leading the charge of Lord Strathcona’s Horse.
Credit: Alfred James Munnings/CWM/19710261-0443
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